Chapter 155
Marquis Shupen was a sharp-edged man who rarely spoke well of anyone.
Even to his own son, praise was almost nonexistent, so hearing him say something like that twisted Sanin’s mood.
“As I said before, it’s a realization that came far too late. No matter how much one trains basic abilities for two months—.”
“Is that so?”
Marquis Shupen cut him off.
“I see things a bit differently. Whatever method he used, his movements have clearly improved in just a few days. At this rate, perhaps in two months, something unexpected might happen.”
“!!”
He was saying Sanin might lose the bet.
“…That won’t happen.”
Sanin gritted his teeth.
“I’ll show you myself, Father. That I’m by no means inferior to those arrogant bastards from the main family.”
“…You.”
That was a dangerous statement.
It was a declaration that, as a collateral line, he didn’t acknowledge the main family.
Marquis Shupen spoke coldly.
“Watch your words.”
Sanin clenched his fists tightly.
“Forgive me for showing such disgrace. I’ll take my leave now.”
Before Marquis Shupen could say anything, Sanin turned sharply and vanished.
The Marquis let out a sigh and exhaled smoke from his cigarette.
“Raising a child is no easy task.”
In truth.
The reason the Marquis had said all this to Sanin was because he cared for him.
‘His arrogance is becoming a poison.’
Among both direct and collateral lines, Sanin stood at the forefront of the next generation of the Dark Demonic House.
A position that justified his pride.
However, that pride, fused with the inferiority complex of a collateral line, had become a silent poison gnawing away at Sanin.
‘Will the Young Lord Christian be the one to shatter Sanin’s arrogance?’
Of course, objectively speaking, it was unlikely.
As Sanin had said—how much could someone improve their basic abilities in just two months?
However.
—For someone like me, two months is a very long time.
He was curious to see what kind of person Christian would become after the promised time passed.
* * *
Time flew by quickly.
Chris continued with the same routine.
He spent most of the day wearing a restraint that sealed his demonic energy while training his body.
The rest of the time was spent training the basics of demonic energy.
‘This is rough. Damn it.’
Chris cursed inwardly.
He was grinding his way through it, but it clearly wasn’t his forte.
‘Why the hell do I have to suffer like this?! Damn it.’
He was doing it because he had to, but sudden bursts of rage would well up inside him, and Chris reminded himself of his ultimate goal.
‘Endure it while thinking about stopping the world's destruction and the riches and glory I’ll enjoy one day. Riches and glory! Riches and glory!’
Meanwhile, the demons of the Dark Demonic Army who watched Chris clicked their tongues.
“How many days has it been now? It's been over a month, right?”
“Impressive. To keep up such high-intensity training every single day for a whole month.”
The ridicule was gone.
A demon who made the effort was worthy of respect for that alone.
Of course, that was as far as it went.
“But even so. How’s he going to beat one of the Five Commanders with just basic training?”
“Exactly.”
“Challenging them was pure arrogance after all.”
Just as the demons were shaking their heads.
There were a few who tilted theirs, puzzled.
‘…Were Young Lord Christian’s movements always that good?’
‘I thought he was awful just a month ago?’
‘How many laps is that now? Isn’t it 120 laps? He couldn’t even do 50 before, right? Am I remembering wrong?’
The demons were confused.
It made no sense for someone’s basic abilities to improve so drastically in just a month.
There was a reason for it.
‘Of course there’s a secret. A genius like me wouldn’t be doing brute-force basic training.’
Chris spat on the ground and thought to himself.
‘I’m also using the secret art of the House of Euisun.’
That’s right.
Chris wasn’t just blindly doing basic training right now.
He was using the physical cultivation method from the famed martial House of Euisun.
‘Though even within the House of Euisun, it was only passed down as an incantation and forgotten over time.’
The reason it was forgotten was simple.
It was impossible to actually practice.
‘Extreme Annihilation Body Refinement Technique.’
That was the name of the secret art.
As the name suggested, it was a technique that refined the body by pushing it to the extreme and strengthening it during the recovery process.
‘There’s no effect in just blindly pushing your body. You have to consciously strain it down to the muscles, tendons, and soft tissues.’
For example.
You take a step. Then you press your foot into the ground and push off.
That’s the basic running motion.
In that process, you had to concentrate on how the tendons contracted, how the muscles moved, and what kind of force acted on the soft tissues—consciously straining all of it.
‘Even when breathing, I have to focus on my heart and lungs. As if I’m breathing and circulating blood with my own “will.”’
There are several reasons to do this.
The difference in strain and training between moving mindlessly and consciously focusing on each part is on a whole different level.
More importantly.
‘Doing this allows your “will” to embed itself into your body. The will to become stronger.’
A will honed through intense focus exerts a powerful influence on the body.
‘That’s why this secret art can only be attempted after reaching 5-star, the minimum level at which one can wield willpower.’
The problem is, once a martial artist reaches the level of 5-star, they no longer need this kind of secret art.
They would’ve already perfected their physical conditioning.
That was the first reason why this technique was abandoned.
‘The more important reason is that maintaining this level of focus is impossible for ordinary people.’
A few hours, maybe.
But maintaining such concentration all day while pushing the body to its limits—no one in the world can do that.
Except for Chris.
Afterward, before sleeping, he drank an elixir he had prepared in advance.
It was an elixir that solidly refined his battered body.
Repeating that process was the reason why, in just one month, his physical capabilities had improved so dramatically.
‘Training the basics of demonic energy, well, that’s my specialty. Even with just a little effort, the efficiency is ridiculously high.’
Chris entered a secluded place to check his progress.
Fwoosh!
An aura blade flared to life.
Compared to before, the energy was clearly stronger.
As his foundational physical abilities improved, the vessel that held will-infused aura also became sturdier.
‘Still not enough.’
It was far from the “perfect aura” he desired.
‘It’s about time I change things up.’
There was no reason to insist solely on basic training while using the House of Euisun’s secret art.
Rather, now was the time to move on to the next stage.
Chris stepped back outside and returned to the training ground.
The demon soldiers were in the middle of intense training.
“Greetings, Young Lord!”
“Training, are you?”
“Sir? Yes. We’re about to begin sparring in teams.”
When Chris suddenly spoke to him, unlike usual, the training instructor looked puzzled.
“You seem to do the same thing every time. How about changing it up today?”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll personally teach you all a lesson.”
Chris grabbed a staff placed on the training ground.
“All of you here may come at me at once. I won’t use any demonic energy.”
The training instructor looked flustered.
Even if they were just demon soldiers, there were around 200 of them currently in training.
“You mean to take on all 200 of them at once? Even for you, Young Lord, without using demonic energy, that’s….”
“You’re included as well.”
“…Excuse me?”
“You too—join those 200 and come at me.”
The instructor’s face stiffened.
For reference, the training instructor was a 3-star.
Compared to Chris, that was a paltry level of mastery, but still—being told to join forces with 200 others and attack him?
Wasn't Christian even in a state where his demonic energy was sealed?
“…If you get hurt during the spar, we won't be responsible.”
“Don’t worry about it. If I lose, I’ll treat you all to beef.”
Christian twirled the staff lightly.
With a roar, the demon soldiers charged at him.
Christian looked at them with eyes lowered in focus.
At the same time, he observed his own body—down to each strand of muscle, aiming to completely control every single movement.
Time passed, and the promised moment drew near.
* * *
People began gathering at the training arena.
They had come to watch the duel between Christian and the Fifth Commander.
Because it was such a widely talked-about match, most of the officers of the Dark Demon Army who had no current missions had shown up.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Of course Young Lord Christian will lose. From the beginning, it wasn’t a fair fight.”
“What matters is how hard he fights.”
Not one among the gathered crowd expected Christian to win.
What mattered was how long he could endure.
Even if he lost, how honorably he could fall—that was thought to be the full extent of what Christian could show.
“By the way, where is Young Lord Christian? He’s not here yet?”
“True. No one’s seen him since last week.”
Christian, who had continued only with basic training, had suddenly vanished a week ago.
“They say he went for secret training, but what kind of results could a week even yield?”
Some even mocked him subtly.
“He keeps talking about the Main House, but I’m curious to see just how impressive he’ll really be.”
“Honestly, he doesn’t seem all that great compared to the reputation.”
It wasn’t outwardly expressed, but—
There were those in the Dark Demon Army who quietly resented the Main House.
That would’ve been unimaginable when Nordian was at the front lines, but ever since Marquis Langham took power, the Main House had been embroiled in scandal and disappointment.
Sanin’s disloyal behavior toward Christian didn’t come out of nowhere.
And in truth, it wasn’t surprising.
Unlike the Alliance, which was obsessed with hierarchy, tradition, justification, and bloodline, demons only respected strength.
The only reason the Main House could stand above others was because of its power. If that wavered, rebellion was inevitable.
Which was why the heir of the Main House needed to earn the loyalty of the Dark Demon Army.
That was also why this duel mattered so much.
If Christian failed to show a strong performance, it would harm the Dark Demon Army’s loyalty to the Main House.
On the other hand, if he displayed overwhelming power, it would serve to reinforce that loyalty.
‘Though the chances of that are slim.’
At that moment, a commotion broke out outside.
In the distance, a boy appeared.
That familiar, arrogant noble’s face.
It was Christian.
“I’m a little late.”
At the relaxed tone in his voice, the demons gathered in the arena fell silent.
They could feel that something had changed in Christian.
Compared to when he first came to the Dark Demon Army—no, even compared to just a week ago—he was noticeably different.
As if he had shed his shell and become a different person entirely.
The demons realized the reason.
‘He’s reached 5-star!’
It was unbelievable.
Rumor had it that Christian had only just become 4-star barely half a year ago.
And now he was already 5-star?
But that wasn’t even the most shocking part.
‘He’s only a lower 5-star, so how can he exude that kind of pressure?’