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

Chapter 56: Mental Asylum (1)

A few days later, early in the morning.

Having finished his breakfast, Il-mok began a day different from his usual routine. Instead of attending his morning lesson with Jin Hayeon, he departed directly from Windrock Palace and headed elsewhere.

He arrived at a sprawling estate, its grounds encompassing several training areas divided into distinct sections.

“Are you the Eighth Young Master?”

When Il-mok nodded at the guard’s question, the man pointed towards the leftmost area.

“Your examination will take place there.”

“Thank you for the guidance,” Il-mok replied with a nod, trying to shake off his tension as he headed toward the indicated location.

“Ah, there you are.”

A man in his forties with a playful glint in his eyes greeted him.

“I need you to know that within the Hall of the Demonic Way, everyone operates solely according to its rules, regardless of family or rank, Eighth Young Master. So don’t feel slighted if someone didn’t show you formal courtesy.”

Hiding his inner tension, Il-mok responded to the man’s joking tone, “I don’t mind, Instructor.”

“Hahaha! To be called Instructor by the Heavenly Demon’s disciple—I’ve truly made it.”

The instructor’s jovial demeanor, however, only served to heighten Il-mok’s inner vigilance.

The reason was simple.

He wasn’t afraid of failing his exam. Rather, it was because this was the Demonic Cult.

‘I don’t know what kind of madman he might be. I can’t let my guard down.’

He could afford to relax since there was no predicting what deranged stunt this lunatic might pull mid-test.

After a year in this damned cult, Il-mok knew one thing well.

That the only relatively sane people here were either the top-tier masters who had cultivated high-tier Demonic Arts to the point where they achieved Transcendence or the low-ranking warriors who only practiced basic techniques.

Ironically, it was these mediocre bastards who were the most unhinged.

As an instructor within the Hall of the Demonic Way responsible for training only the finest talents of this damned cult, there is no way the before him cultivated low-level Demonic Art.

Yet, since he was merely an instructor and not the Hall Master, he likely hadn’t achieved Transcendence in his Demonic Art.

In other words, the instructors at the Hall of the Demonic Way were martial artists at the peak of their madness, living and time-ticking bombs waiting to explode.

Just then, the broadly smiling instructor spoke again.

“Well then, let’s begin.”

Without any preamble or explanation, he abruptly lunged at Il-mok while employing swift footwork.

This might have seemed strange elsewhere, but in this damned cult, this was considered normal. It would be nonsensical for someone hoping to enter the Hall of the Demonic Way to come without knowing the examination method.

Moreover, even if they were unaware, it wouldn’t matter.

Anyone who fell victim to such a simple surprise attack wouldn’t qualify for the Hall of the Demonic Way anyway.

And Il-mok didn’t disappoint the instructor’s expectations.

Clang!

With a flash of his Soul-Departing Sword, Il-mok effortlessly deflected the instructor’s palm strike that had come diving in suddenly.

“Oho~”

As if discovering an interesting toy, the instructor let out a curious hum and continued his offensive.

The bare-handed instructor pressed Il-mok, moving both palms with surprising fluidity in his movements.

Sometimes he alternated between left and right palms, unleashing a barrage of unpredictable attacks. Sometimes he launched powerful strikes with both palms simultaneously.

But Il-mok calmly blocked or evaded the onslaught.

‘I’m quite familiar with palm techniques.’

The fact that the instructor’s primary martial art was palm technique could be considered fortunate for Il-mok.

Besides his Master, the Heavenly Demon, the opponents Il-mok had sparred with most frequently were Jin Hayeon and Seon-ah, both were practitioners of palm techniques and claw techniques, respectively. Though their techniques differed, the countermeasures were somewhat similar.

After steadily weathering the instructor’s attacks for a while, Il-mok’s movements began to change as he grew accustomed to his opponent’s patterns.

With concise sword movements, he utilized his sword to limit the instructor’s movement while simultaneously utilizing footwork to create distance.

The most fundamental aspect of combat is distance—maintaining or creating a distance that’s advantageous to oneself and disadvantageous to the opponent.

Whether facing fists, palms, hands, claws, or fingers, the simplest strategy for a swordsman like Il-mok against an unarmed opponent remained the same.

That is to maintain a distance where his sword could reach, but out of the opponent’s hands’ reach.

This was a basic principle known to every swordsman, yet its simplicity belied its difficulty in execution.

Clang!

With a sudden burst of speed, Il-mok created a gap of about a step between himself and the instructor.

Maintaining this distance, he launched a relentless flurry of sword strikes.

Clang!

Swish!

The sounds of metal clashing against metal filled the air as Il-mok’s sword met the instructor’s palms.

At times, the instructor evaded Il-mok’s attacks with uncanny footwork.

However, despite blocking or dodging Il-mok’s sword, he couldn’t find an opening to counterattack.

“Hmm~?”

After several attempts to break through were thwarted, the instructor’s eyes gleamed as he made another curious sound.

‘This one has no sense of nervousness, does he?’

The instructor felt something unusual. It was as if he were facing a weathered swordsman who had trained for at least ten years and survived hundreds of life-or-death battles.

Even amidst the ceaseless flurry of sword strikes, Il-mok showed no signs of faltering posture or exposing any openings.

While swinging his sword continuously, Il-mok’s stances remained stable and left no openings for a counter.

‘It seems the Heavenly Demon didn’t choose him without reason.’

A smile of genuine interest spread across the instructor’s face, and his aura shifted.

Pat!

Drawing internal energy deeper from his dantian, the instructor displayed footwork at a much faster pace than before.

The abrupt change in speed created an effect similar to a surprise attack, allowing the instructor to close the distance by a step in an instant.

He unleashed a palm strike.

Unlike before, demonic energy swirled around the instructor’s palm.

Sensing a surge of danger, Il-mok immediately channeled his internal energy to manifest his sword qi.

CLANG!!

A deafening screech rang out as Il-mok deployed the Soul-Cutting Flash, imbued with the principles of swift swordsmanship to block the instructor’s attack.

Il-mok couldn’t help but frown as they clashed this time.

It wasn’t because of internal injuries from the collision.

‘Tsk. It’s not just demonic energy.’

A numbing sensation coursed through his hand gripping the sword.

That demonic energy was infused with lightning qi.

But Il-mok didn’t panic.

Though it was his first time directly experiencing lightning qi, he had faced similar situations before.

Channeling his own internal energy, he forced the invading current back and simultaneously executed the Soul-Guiding Sword imbued with the principle of redirection to deflect the connected black palm.

Clang!

At the same time, he changed positions with his footwork and swung his sword relentlessly, seamlessly blending real and feigned attacks to prevent the instructor from countering,

‘Sparring with Jin Hayeon has been helpful in many ways.’

Though Jin Hayeon’s White Hand Demonic Art wasn’t lightning-based, the experience of countering invasive energy—where direct clashes risked numbness from creeping cold—proved invaluable.

However, one significant problem remained.

Il-mok was still about two levels below Jin Hayeon, while the instructor was several levels above her.

Seeing Il-mok managed to withstand his offensive until now, the instructor decided to up his ante.

Pat!

“Hup!”

Il-mok was once again forced onto the defensive.

Maintaining distance or completely dodging the palm strikes became increasingly difficult, and eventually, he had no choice but to block the instructor’s black palm with his sword.

“Ugh.”

A muffled groan escaped Il-mok’s lips as the tingling lightning energy coursed through his sword, but he narrowly managed to escape the onslaught and hold his ground.

But that didn’t last long.

Swoosh!

Surprisingly, at some point, Il-mok began to counterattack again.

It was because the forms had become familiar to his eyes.

Despite the escalating speed and power, the forms remained the same. Il-mok had memorized the patterns of the instructor’s palm strikes and their trajectories.

Il-mok, who had seemed completely overwhelmed, started launching occasional counterattacks.

‘Now!’

Seizing a fleeting opportunity, Il-mok’s sword traced a perfect arc towards the instructor’s head.

And just before the sword could pierce the instructor’s head—

Pat!

Moving at a speed far faster than before, the instructor’s hand instantly caught Il-mok’s sword.

“Whew. That’s enough.”

After exhaling deeply, the instructor returned to his original smiling face and released Il-mok’s sword.

“Thank you for teaching me a lesson.”

As Il-mok quickly sheathed his sword and cupped his hands in respect, the instructor laughed heartily and pointed to a nearby building.

“Hahahaha. It was just a spar, hardly worth calling a lesson. There is still the interview portion, go to that hall over there.”

Il-mok bowed once more and headed toward the hall.

‘Hmm? He seems more normal than I expected. Could he be a master who has achieved Transcendence?’

Lost in thought, Il-mok glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes meeting the instructor’s, who was waving with a friendly smile.

A sudden chill ran down Il-mok’s spine. He offered a quick nod of farewell and hastened his pace.

‘What was that?’

Il-mok couldn’t understand the reason for his unease.

***

Chu Il-hwan, the instructor, watched with an amiable smile as the Eighth Young Master—the Heavenly Demons’ youngest disciple and recent subject of numerous rumors within the cult—entered the pavilion.

His pupils narrowed like a snake’s.

With a face like a predator eyeing its prey, he moistened his lips with his tongue.

“That was close. I almost got carried away and killed him.”

His Demonic Art, the Black Thunder Demonic Palm contained one side effect.

And that side effect is a homicidal impulse.

***

Arriving at the pavilion, Il-mok waited briefly for his turn before being ushered into a room for his interview.

The instructor waiting inside confirmed Il-mok’s identity and posed the first question, “Excluding the current Heavenly Demon, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi, who do you consider to be the greatest among the past Heavenly Demons, and why?”

This wasn’t simply a question about selecting a respected figure.

‘It’s a question that combines historical records and doctrinal writings.’

As objects of faith, the achievements of the previous Heavenly Demons were extensively recorded in historical records.

Moreover, each Heavenly Demon’s achievements were diverse and could be interpreted in various ways according to the cult’s doctrines.

In essence, the question aimed to gauge which doctrines Il-mok valued most, requiring him to articulate his personal views while weaving them into the historical narrative and the cult’s teachings.

There was no single correct answer, but a clear and well-reasoned explanation grounded in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s doctrines was essential.

“I believe the achievements of the Seventh Heavenly Demon, the Bloodthirsty Heavenly Demon, were the greatest. The reason being…”

Il-mok answered the instructor’s question without hesitation.

He had already encountered similar questions during the dozens of mock interviews conducted with Jin Hayeon in preparation for the examination.

Following that, the instructor posed various other questions.

Some had definite correct answers, while others required expressing personal views intertwined with the cult’s doctrine, law, or history.

The common thread among these diverse questions was—

“That concludes my answer.”

—that Il-mok could answer each one flawlessly.

After about fifteen minutes spent exchanging a dozen or so questions and answers, the instructor nodded and said, “The results will be posted on a notice board in two days. Come back then.”

***

Two days later.

Il-mok, accompanied by Jin Hayeon and Ouyang Mun, returned to the sprawling estate where the Hall of the Demonic Way entrance examination had been held.

Near the entrance, a crowd had gathered, their reactions ranging from jubilation to despair.

Fortunately, the number of people wasn’t overwhelming.

‘I heard they only accept the cream of the crop, so the number of candidates taking the assessment isn’t that high to begin with.’

Passing through the not-so-dense crowd to approach the wall, Il-mok looked at the posted notice.

Fortunately, Il-mok didn’t need to search hard to find his name.

It was written at the very top of the notice.

“Congratulations, Young Master.”

“Hahaha! As expected of Young Master Il-mok, I knew you would pass as the top seat!”

Jin Hayeon offered a simple congratulations while Ouyang Mun seems to be more excited than Il-mok himself.

Il-mok’s expression was a mixture of apprehension and resignation.

‘So now I’m really going in…’

Into a dreadful facility filled with instructors composed of madmen and fellow students full of potential madmen in the making.