NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31 - Audit (4)
Chapter 31: Audit (4)
To be fair, I had my own excuses.
The only Branch Leader I’d ever met was Ma Gang-il, the Branch Leader of Aksu County.
And Ma Gang-il’s side effect was, at worst, hypomania.
I thought that if the side effect was just becoming increasingly cheerful and laughing boisterously, there wouldn’t be any problems dealing with children.
However, I realized that not all Branch Leaders would have cultivated the same Demonic Art as Ma Gang-il.
Moreover…
‘I forgot how infuriating it can be to deal with dozens of children!’
Even normal people often lose their minds from stress when dealing with children, so how could I have forgotten that mentally ill patients wouldn’t be able to handle such stress?
But now wasn’t the time to be regretting that.
BANG!
“Calm down!!”
I burst through the door and shouted, trying to prevent the children from being massacred.
The eyes of all the children gathered in the academy focused on me. Naturally, so did the gaze of the headmaster, who was also the Branch Leader, radiating killing intent and Demonic Energy.
“How dare you disrupt the sacred rites of the Divine Cult!”
Perhaps because he had already started to lose control, the deranged Branch Leader immediately shouted and charged at me through the crowd of children.
Waves of killing intent and Demonic Energy washed over me.
But to me, who had barely begun learning Demonic Arts less than four months ago, the murderous aura of this middle-aged demonic cultivator…
Laughably, it felt trivial.
From my Master to the Senior Brothers… Having experienced the killing intent of masters of entirely different calibers, this level of killing intent barely registered in my mind.
You could say my guts had grown disproportionate to my actual skill.
SWOOSH!
In an instant, the Branch Leader drew the sword at his waist and swung it as he closed in.
Strangely, I could see all of his movements clearly.
Naturally, I wasn’t about to let myself get hit by such a telegraphed attack.
CLANG!
In a flash, I drew my sword using the Soul-Departing Sword technique, while incorporating the Soul-Guiding Sword to deflect the Branch Leader’s first attack.
“Ugh.”
But despite redirecting the force by utilizing my Demonic Art to the fullest, my right arm still ached—likely due to the gap in our internal energy.
I decisively retreated, using the principles of Soul-Cutting Flash to keep the Branch Leader at bay with concise thrusts.
CLANG!
CLANG!
I parried the Branch Lord’s wild, boar-like slashes while backing away step by step.
“Die!!”
The Branch Leader had finally closed in on me and was swinging his sword, but there was no need to retreat any further.
I’d maneuvered past the lecture hall’s narrow entrance into the open street.
“How dare you!”
And as the Branch Leader chased me out of the school, Jin Hayeon and the two escort launched their attack.
“Don’t kill him!”
Even without my order, they seemed intent on avoiding lethal force. Instead, they swiftly targeted his pressure points, immobilizing him.
“How dare you oppress me, the Branch Lord of the Divine Cult, and hinder me from spreading the Cult’s teaching! Do you think you’ll get away with this!!”
The Branch Leader, now immobilized with his pressure points sealed, roared in rage.
But he had chosen the wrong opponent to scream at.
“You’re the one who dared to swing a sword at this person without knowing who they are!”
Jin Hayeon cut in and immediately reached into her sleeve to pull out some kind of token.
“This person is the Eighth Disciple of the Supreme One, Young Master Il-mok.”
The moment he saw the token, the Branch Leader’s attitude completely changed.
“Hiiik…”
His face, which had been red with anger just moments ago, now turned deathly pale.
“This lowly one had committed a grave sin! Please kill me!!”
The cultist, looking like he might burst into tears at any moment, wasn’t begging for his life but rather pleading to be killed.
I thought I’d gotten used to the Demonic Cult, things like this were still impossible to get used to, no matter how many times I saw them.
At that moment, the children from the school rushed out and stood between us and the Branch Leader.
“Don’t bully our headmaster!!”
“Why are you hurting our headmaster!”
For some reason, the headmaster’s face turned even darker at the children’s actions.
After watching this scene for a moment, I let out a sigh and said,
“Let’s move to the branch headquarters first. Release his pressure points.”
* * *
Together with Jin Hayeon, the two escorts, and the Branch Leader, I entered the branch headquarters.
The Branch Leader’s utterly dejected attitude was like a teacher who had been caught doing something wrong by a visiting school inspector.
“Teaching children is harder than you thought, isn’t it?”
“No! It’s because I’m inadequate! Please kill me, for I have failed to properly handle even a simple task given by the Heavenly Demon!”
It’s not like I’m some Joseon Dynasty executioner, why does he keep asking me to kill him?
But no matter how I tried to calm him down, he kept begging to be killed, so I changed my approach.
“How do you conduct your classes?”
“Do you give them breaks?”
“How many characters do you teach per day?”
Only after I bombarded him with questions about his teaching methods did the Branch Leader start answering properly.
After grasping the current teaching methods, I gave him a few instructions.
“First, if there’s a child who doesn’t follow the Branch Leader’s instructions during class, give them one warning, and if they still don’t comply, send them home.”
“!? H-How can I defy the Heavenly Demon’s order and send a child home?”
“I don’t mean to actually send them home. It’s a threat. A threat aimed at the children’s parents. Last night, I confirmed that all the parents were delighted that their children could learn to read. So, what do you think would happen if they were told their child was expelled from school for not listening?”
In modern times, they might cause an uproar saying ‘Who are you to discriminate against our child?’ But this place was different.
“Well, wouldn’t they come begging and pleading for forgiveness, asking for just one chance? The parents would also severely scold the child at home.”
“Exactly. There’s no need for you to give in to your anger. You just have to do your job. Warn them that you’ll send them home, and if that doesn’t work, just send them home. And when the parents come begging for forgiveness, just say you’ll let it slide this once and continue teaching the child.”
“Ah!!”
The Branch Leader finally seemed to understand my intention, letting out a gasp of admiration.
“As expected of the Supreme One’s disciple! Such wisdom!!”
I waved off the Branch Leader’s unnecessary flattery.
From my perspective, this wasn’t really a satisfying solution either. After all, it was just passing the burden of discipline onto the parents.
It’s just that…
‘If these lunatics, driven mad by Demonic Arts, were to administer corporal punishment, they might kill or cripple the kids, so I have no choice.’
It was a second-best solution to avoid the worst-case scenario.
And of course, these measures alone wouldn’t solve all the problems.
“Children’s attention spans have limits. Don’t try to force-feed them too much information. It’ll only make things harder for you.”
“Then, how much would be appropriate?”
“Think of teaching just eight characters per day. Since you’ll be teaching the Thousand Character Classic over a year anyway, even at that pace, you’ll complete one reading in just one hundred and twenty-five days.”
The Thousand Character Classic was structured like poetry. It consisted of 250 verses of four characters each, totaling a thousand characters.
In other words, I was telling him to teach only two verses a day.
“You don’t even need to teach two phrases at once. Teach one verses first, and when the children have somewhat understood and memorized it, give them a break. It’s fine to let them play during break time. Then, after they’ve calmed down somewhat, you can teach the second verses.”
“I understand, Young Master.”
“Patience is key. Never lose your temper with them. Do you understand?”
I emphasized forcefully.
Even now, my spine felt chilled.
The thought that children all over Xinjiang might be dying or being crippled by the Demonic Cult members because of the academy I’d suggested to Master out of laziness chilled my spine.
“It seems quite late, so you may leave now.”
“By your command!!”
Despite the lengthy lecture, the Branch Leader bowed to me with a moved expression and hurriedly left.
“Bring me a brush, ink, and paper.”
Then I gave instructions to Jin Hayeon, who had been standing by.
* * *
As soon as Jin Hayeon brought the writing materials, Il-mok began writing furiously on the paper.
‘The class schedule and pace need to be adjusted to the children’s level.
‘The instructors need to be changed too. Exclude those who have learned Demonic Arts related to anger or depression, and rather choose those with mania like Branch Leader Ma Gang-il, or those lacking emotions like Jin Hayeon, as they’re less likely to harm the children.’
He jotted down the problems he’d observed while touring the area and branch headquarters, along with potential solutions.
But Il-mok’s inner thoughts weren’t comfortable as he wrote.
It wasn’t just because of the guilt about almost having killed the children.
Thoughts like ‘This should be enough’ and ‘This is probably sufficient, it’s becoming troublesome’ did cross his mind.
However—
—It’s not perfect yet!
—What if this happens? Shouldn’t you prepare a bit more?
Such thoughts kept creeping up from one corner of his mind.
It was the moment when the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword kicked in.
Swish.
Il-mok’s hand moved autonomously now, devising contingency after contingency.
While Ilmok was so absorbed in his work, Jin Hayeon, who had been standing behind watching the scene, secretly sent a voice transmission to the two guard warriors.
—We’re intruding. Withdraw.
The guards nodded imperceptibly and slipped out.
And just in case, Jin Hayeon and the two guard warriors stood watch at the entrance.
Perhaps bored from the endless wait.
One of the two guard warriors, named Jang Hwi. asked Jin Hayeon.
“By the way, is it true that the Young Master has been learning martial arts for less than four months?”
“That’s correct.”
“No prior experience?”
“None.”
The guard’s eyes lit up in interest at her answer.
“Oh my. To think that’s the level of skill he achieved after only four months.”
Though it was brief, Il-mok had managed to hold his own in a fight against the Branch Leader.
Of course, all three of them present were stronger than the Branch Leader. The Branch Leader was at best a leader among low-ranking warriors, a far cry to them, who had graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way.
However, he was still a middle-aged man who had practiced Demonic Arts for decades. The fact that Il-mok had withstood his attacks alone was a testament to his remarkable talent.
To Jang Hwi’s reaction, Jin Hayeon spoke in a tone uncharacteristically filled with pride.
“Young Master Il-mok’s talent for martial arts is remarkable, but his strategic mind is even more impressive.”
“Strategic mind, you say.”
“Even now, based on the brief audit this morning, he’s writing down such a long document without rest.”
To Jin Hayeon’s praise, the other escort Kwan Mu-yeol, frowned and said.
“Hmm. Having many opinions isn’t necessarily a good thing. What matters is whether they truly benefit the Divine Cult.”
“You’re too rigid,” Jang Hwi countered.
Jin Hayeon interjected into the conversation between Kwan Mu-yeol and Jang Hwi.
“I agree with Warrior Kwan’s words. Indeed, having many opinions isn’t necessarily good. However, I believe Young Master Il-mok will be different. Just watch and see.”
For some reason, her face was filled with pride. Just like when discussing the Heavenly Demon.
* * *
By the time Il-mok finished his work, it was already time for the children to go home.
‘Damn side effects.’
Thanks to the combination of his modern memories and the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, Il-mok had been driven to endlessly spew out ideas onto paper before finally managing to break free
However, even though the children had gone home, Il-mok didn’t return to the inn he had stayed at yesterday.
Having already revealed his identity and dealt with the incident, Il-mok confidently enjoyed the Branch Leader’s hospitality for the rest of the day.
“Young Master, is the food to your liking?”
“Oh my, haha. It is to my liking, but my arm, the one that blocked your sword earlier, is throbbing. I think I need to eat more meat to heal my muscles.”
“Hiiik…”
When Ilmok answered while massaging his right arm, the Branch Leader’s face turned pale as he hurriedly went to procure meat from somewhere.
“Oh dear. The back of my neck that almost got cut off feels chilly, I think it would be nice to warm up in some hot~ water.”
No sooner had Il-mok’s words ended than bathwater hot enough to be mistaken for a hot spring appeared.
It wasn’t voluntary hospitality from the Branch Leader, but forced hospitality by Il-mok
Kwan Mu-yeol, one of the escorts, who had been watching the scene for a while, frowned and said.
“Young Master. It is not right for a disciple of the Supreme One to exploit and oppress the cult’s warrior. If you continue like this, I will have no choice but to report to the Supreme One.”
“Ah, is that so?”
But for some reason, Il-mok’s lips curled into a sly smile at the escort warrior’s reprimand.
“Well, well. Even with escorts by my side, I ended up drawing my sword and getting hurt in a fight, so I couldn’t help myself.”
“That’s because you suddenly went in by yourself.”
“Ah, then you can report that to Master as well. That I almost died because I acted alone despite having escort warriors with me. Hahahaha.”
“…….”
The two escort warriors, staring at Il-mok who was smiling as if he held all the cards, turned their heads to look at Jin Hayeon.
‘Is this what you meant by wait and see?’
She shut her eyes, refusing to acknowledge their stares.