Chapter 24. Leaving the Bamboo Forest (2)

“Huff! Huff! Cough! Oh, I’m dying!”

Xueliang, who had fallen backward, was drenched in sweat.

Madongfil hurriedly approached him.

“Master! Are you alright?”

“You, huff huff! Is, huff huff! This, huff huff! Alright? Huff huff!”

Madongfil quickly examined his limbs.

His skin was flushed red. It was clear how much effort he had exerted.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

“Huff huff! No. Huff huff! No, no.”

His breathing did not return to normal easily. He had truly used up the last bit of demonic energy in his dantian.

Madongfil sighed in relief.

But only for a moment.

“Master.”

“Huff huff! Why? Huff huff!”

“What was that martial art just now... What kind of martial art is it?”

“Phew! You little brat, you keep talking when I can’t even catch my breath. Cough cough!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Xueliang closed his eyes tightly and continued to breathe. Normally, he would have answered, but he really seemed to be struggling.

Madongfil turned his head.

Rumble.

Mangju was baring his teeth and scratching the ground.

But he couldn’t leave the bamboo grove. He cautiously extended his front paws, only to quickly pull them back in fear, repeating this until he finally settled on scratching the ground.

And on either side of Mangju.

Squish.

The bodies of the snakes were gradually sinking into the ground.

Madongfil swallowed.

If Xueliang had made a mistake, those snakes’ fangs would have pierced his body.

What would have happened then? If someone were to be bitten by those fangs, which could evaporate all the moisture in the area just by their movement, what would become of them?

'They would lose all the blood and moisture in their body and turn into a mummy.'

It was a terrifying death to imagine. It would be better to be torn apart by Mangju’s claws.

At the same time, he recalled how Xueliang had sliced through all those snakes.

Shiver!

Madongfil unconsciously rubbed his neck.

‘It was an incredible slash.’

He couldn’t understand how a human body could rotate so quickly or how such a slash was possible.

The sword technique was like a whirlwind that enveloped everything.

‘It was as if it was sucked in.’

It seemed to have been swung for attack, not defense. The bamboo and the snakes were all drawn into the whirlwind named Xueliang and met their fate.

It was a martial art he had never seen or even imagined.

“Grunn.”

At that moment, Xueliang raised his upper body.

Madongfil hurriedly approached him.

“How are you? Is your stamina okay?”

“Of course. Thanks to Master.”

“Then stand up and guard.”

“Yes.”

Madongfil spoke sparingly.

Honestly, he felt quite disheartened. As a bodyguard, it was shameful to be protected by the person he was supposed to protect.

What was truly miserable was that if the situation were reversed, he knew he wouldn’t be able to evacuate Xueliang like this.

Grip.

His fists, white with tension, were dripping blood.

‘I mustn’t let my mind wander. I need to focus on protecting Master now.’

How long had it been since Xueliang entered meditation and Madongfil guarded the entrance to the forest?

Rustle.

Madongfil looked down at his chest.

‘Ah.’

He had forgotten about this small creature in the heat of the moment.

He reached into his robe.

Pop.

Lifting the fox by the scruff of its neck, it dangled there.

Yawn.

It yawned widely, which was quite adorable. The way it fidgeted with its front paws, as if searching for its mother’s embrace, made anyone who saw it smile.

Madongfil sighed deeply.

‘You must have been quite comfortable.’

At that moment.

The young fox, which had just shown its underdeveloped teeth while yawning, suddenly looked at the entrance to the bamboo grove.

Startle!

Mangju lowered his posture.

Swoosh.

‘Huh?’

Madongfil blinked.

What? He had a good grip on the back of its neck, so when did it get loose?

The young fox, now on the ground, wobbled its short legs and walked toward the entrance of the bamboo grove.

Rumble.

Mangju’s posture became even lower.

Madongfil involuntarily opened his mouth.

“Danger...”

Huh?

“...I think.”

His gaze was fixed on the entrance.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Led by Mangju, the green and black creatures slowly retreated.

They were retreating while grunting, as if in fear. The creatures that had charged forward in a frenzy, even in the face of Xueliang’s divine sword technique, were now bowing their heads and backing away.

Madongfil’s expression twisted strangely.

‘Why are they doing this?’

Incongruously.

Madongfil, standing behind, couldn’t understand the creatures’ bizarre behavior.

He didn’t realize that the young fox’s eyes, which were not the luminous black he had seen before, were now glowing with a rainbow of colors.

The authority emanating from those five-colored demonic eyes was so great that even mythical creatures were retreating in fear. Madongfil couldn’t understand why.

Once the creatures had completely disappeared from sight, the young fox turned around.

“Hmm?”

The young fox cautiously walked toward Xueliang.

Madongfil quickly grabbed the fox by the scruff of its neck.

“No.”

The young fox struggled, as if in protest.

But Madongfil was firm. Even if Master had saved this animal, there were limits.

“You can’t disturb Master. Stay in my arms.”

He placed the fox back in his arms. The young fox struggled a few times before giving up and slumping.

How much time had passed?

Whoosh.

Madongfil’s eyes gleamed.

Swoosh.

A red demonic energy swirled around Xueliang, who was sitting in a meditative posture. It was so dense that it made one’s spine shiver just to look at it.

‘Impressive. How can he produce such demonic energy...’

He wasn’t talking about the amount of demonic energy.

There was a limit to the concentration of demonic energy that could be drawn through spiritual energy. The demonic energy Xueliang was emitting now was so deep that it could only be achieved with a profound understanding of demonic arts.

Madongfil was truly curious.

‘What kind of person is Master?’

Despite serving him for eight months, there was much he didn’t know about Master.

How did he acquire such extensive knowledge? How could he become so strong so quickly? Where did he learn the creative way he applied martial arts?

And... what was the unique martial art that produced that red demonic energy?

‘It’s definitely not from our sect.’

It was an intuition. It smelled like a proper demonic art, but there was a strange unfamiliarity to it. It was clearly not from the new sect’s demonic studies.

But it also had a depth that was hard to find in any demonic art.

‘If the sect leader were to teach Master directly now...’

Madongfil involuntarily swallowed.

‘Perhaps the youngest sect leader in our sect’s history would be born.’

It might be an exaggerated thought. But the Master he had observed for eight months was someone with more than just talent.

Madongfil shook his head.

‘I shouldn’t have such thoughts. I just need to focus on my duties. The next leader of our sect is the concern of those involved. It’s not my place to worry about it.’

That was the correct attitude as the head of the law enforcement division. Madongfil shook his head roughly to clear his thoughts and resumed his vigil.

Time passed.

One hour, two hours, half a day.

It was already past noon, and the sun was slowly setting.

‘He’s taking longer than usual. Is it because he used a lot of demonic energy?’

Usually, he would finish meditating in less than half a day, and sometimes even in just two hours.

Madongfil smiled wryly.

‘He did push himself.’

At that moment.

Whoosh!!

Madongfil’s eyes widened.

The red demonic energy emanating from Xueliang’s body intensified.

Swoosh!

The oppressive aura doubled.

“Huff!”

Drip.

Cold sweat trickled down Madongfil’s forehead.

The sudden surge in demonic power overwhelmed his own demonic energy. He felt like a fox in front of a tiger, his legs trembling and his heart racing.

Involuntarily, he took a dozen steps back, his face pale.

‘What is this?!’

What was happening?

Sizzle!

Smoke began to rise from the ground where Xueliang was sitting.

The dark shadow demonic energy, which was yang in nature, gradually increased in temperature and then burst into flames.

Whoosh!!

Xueliang, enveloped in the crimson flames of demonic energy.

Surprisingly, Xueliang’s expression was calm. Despite the intense heat that would make it hard to breathe from ten paces away, not a single hair or piece of clothing was singed.

It was a mysterious sight.

However, the atmosphere around him grew more and more menacing as time passed.

Whoosh!

The flames spread slightly.

At the same time, the air in the bamboo forest was greatly disturbed.

Swoosh!

Madongfil felt his breathing become difficult.

It wasn’t because of the heat from the dark shadow demonic energy. It wasn’t even because the air was burning from the intense heat.

The consumption of spiritual energy in the air.

The large amount of spiritual energy scattered around was being sucked into Xueliang’s body. The speed was so fast that even a high-level expert like Madongfil felt dizzy.

A moment later.

Flash!

Xueliang’s eyes opened.

Phew!

The air suddenly turned cold. The high-temperature demonic energy was rapidly being absorbed into Xueliang’s body.

The demonic energy that had been gathering in his lower dantian could no longer find a place to settle and began to rise to his chest and middle dantian.

Sizzle!

“Grunn!”

A groan escaped Xueliang’s lips.

The fabric of his chest burned in a circular pattern. The demonic energy was rotating at high speed, condensing the energy.

But even that had its limits.

The demonic energy, having filled the lower and middle dantian, continued to overflow.

Boom!

Xueliang’s body convulsed. The demonic energy, unable to find more space, began to break through his meridians and even the finest capillaries.

All the blood vessels in his body were instantly connected. It was as easy and quick as pressing tofu with your hand. The pain of the connection was not even felt due to the heat of the dark shadow demonic energy.

Whoosh!

The swirling demonic energy.

The demonic energy that had filled his body finally found the last remaining vessel.

The upper dantian.

The place where the soul resides and, if properly cultivated, can grant divine abilities—the highest potential storage in the human body.

The demonic energy penetrated his upper dantian.

Whoosh!!

“Gaaaah!”

A scream echoed from Xueliang’s mouth. It was a pain that made even someone who didn’t flinch at minor injuries thrash about.

But the time was short.

Fortunately, Xueliang’s upper dantian was spacious enough to quickly absorb the remaining demonic energy.

“Cough!”

After spitting out a mouthful of dark red blood, Xueliang collapsed.

Madongfil’s eyes widened.

“Master!”

Rushing to Xueliang, he soon breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, his pulse was normal.

Pop.

The young fox, which had pushed its way out of Madongfil’s arms, sat quietly and looked at Xueliang.

The animal’s eyes were incomprehensible. A rainbow of light seemed to flicker in its pupils.

Thus, the two humans and one beast completely left the domain of the bamboo forest.

Xueliang, who had grown by fighting imaginary creatures for eight months.

He had trained in a way that could only be imagined, and now he was incomparably stronger than before.

* * *

Four days later.

“Third Head?”

“Have you been well?”

Madongfil, kneeling and bowing, had a completely expressionless face.

Wudan’s eyes deepened. He could sense that Madongfil, who had come to report a month ago, was now very different.

“Have you come to report?”

“I have come to deliver a message.”

“Message? What do you mean?”

Madongfil raised his head.

The cold, intense gaze made even the great law enforcer Wudan flinch.

“The Third Master has left the forest.”

“...!”

“He intends to go directly to the Demon God Palace. Please ask the sect leader to issue an entry permit.”