The Second Eunuch Regains His Manhood

251. This is… Hyeongyeong…?

Me, Saje, Geumhu, Jeoksawol, Cheonma, Sinseung, Cheonranggaek.

The eight masters of Hyeongyeong gathering from all over the world practiced the Cheonmu Eoryeongjin repeatedly in preparation for the day of the decisive battle.

Cheonmu Eoryeongjin is a formation that connects small universes into one.

To perfectly unfold the formation, it was necessary to truly understand one another.

In fact, even without the formation, mutual understanding was essential for mass games or group dances. If you can’t get in sync properly, how can you pull off a dance, stunt action, or any formation?

“To have to go this far to catch the Blood Demon, I am really not pleased.”

“Hmph. Murangah. If I am also practicing the formation, why complain?”

Though there were times of minor complaints like Cheonma, the highest-ranking and distributing Sosumahu followed Sinseung’s teachings without a word, allowing us to continue our intense training.

The more we practiced the formation, the more I felt the fear of the Blood Demon gradually fade away.

That day.

The martial arts exhibited by the Blood Demon reached a heavenly level.

However, theoretically, if we were to completely unfold the Cheonmu Eoryeongjin and unite our minds as one, it seemed we could indeed match the Blood Demon’s power.

But we were still lacking. The formation alone would not suffice.

“We must share all of our unique skills. Not even a single one must remain undisclosed.”

I said this as we gathered in the Grand Martial Arts Venue for the formation practice.

“To share our unique skills… What do you mean, So Hyup?”

Sinseung replied with a slightly incredulous tone.

Well, saying that was completely against the principles of the martial world.

The unique skills representing individual masters and schools were naturally supposed to remain secret.

In the cold martial world, violence erupted over simply stealing a glimpse of someone’s training.

Yet here I was suggesting we share martial arts with outsiders; it simply made no sense.

But if we acted within common sense, we would surely lose to the Blood Demon.

“The current Cheonmu Eoryeongjin is powerful. However, I feel we are still lacking to face the Blood Demon.”

I spoke while looking directly at Sinseung.

The Blood Demon.

I still couldn’t forget the moment he descended.

The vitality of the mountains and forests evaporated, and the whole world trembled.

At just a word, the heavens would echo in response, and a single step would cause the world to shake—a living natural disaster was the Blood Demon.

There was no way we could defeat such a madman with just a simple formation.

“Forming a united front is completed only when each side thoroughly knows the strengths and weaknesses of our martial arts. Yet we don’t really know what each other’s martial skills are or their pros and cons. In such a state, how can we properly coordinate to confront an opponent?”

I said with a serious voice while looking at everyone.

“We must defeat the Blood Demon. For that, just the formation won’t work. We need to share all our martial arts and insights. Otherwise, we are doomed.”

Defeating the Blood Demon using ordinary methods wouldn’t suffice.

In the martial world, a proper united formation and joint attack could only be executed by masters well-acquainted with each other’s moves over long years.

Even renowned schools like the Mount Hua Sect or Shaolin Temple would form teams for group training, all to properly perform a united formation.

Extremely, there are instances where one focuses on offense while another specializes in defense solely for the sake of united formations.

The famous Mei Hua Sword Dance and the Arhat victory were executed by disciples who naturally knew each other’s martial arts from the same school.

But we weren’t in such a situation.

The eight masters among us didn’t know much about each other’s martial arts. Of course, we learned a bit through our exchanges thus far, but we were nowhere near the level of operating the formation like Mei Hua Sword Dance or Arhat victories.

“… Gaga is right. This is not just some affection for Gaga. I too have faced the Blood Demon alongside Gaga. He claimed that was merely a part of his true power. If that’s true, then with the current Cheonmu Eoryeongjin, we can’t defeat him.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Jeoksawol chimed in.

Geumhu nodded.

“I also agree with Senior Yeomwang. The techniques of our school are more precious than life, but equally important is achieving victory over the Blood Demon. This task involves risking our lives. We cannot afford to lose. If we lose, the Guju Palhwang will fall into the grasp of the Blood Sect, and the hellscape will spread across the land. Amidst this impending doom, we can’t afford to discuss the principles of the martial world privately.”

“I also agree with what you said. If it worries you that much, we can swear to keep our unique skills secret until the grave, avoiding sharing with any outsiders. Surely no one would betray their school after coming this far, right?”

Sosumahu, who was holding my hand, spoke.

Geumhu, Jeoksawol, and Sosumahu.

All three were individuals who faced the Blood Demon in the Mosan Sect. That’s why they also agreed that we couldn’t continue like this.

Just as Sinseung was contemplating our words, a voice suddenly broke in.

“What a fittingly interesting proposal. I would agree. If you wish, I can reveal all the secret techniques of the Heavenly Demon Technique. After all, even if you learn, you won’t be able to defeat me, right? No, rather, it would be more entertaining this way. I’ve never fought against masters who thoroughly know my techniques.”

Cheonma spoke, laughing.

From his eyes, a madness for martial arts ignited. Yes, Cheonma was indeed that kind of person.

“While leaking the vision of Imperial Palace Martial Arts to the martial world feels uneasy, given the current emergency, we have no choice. I shall present my skills.”

Next, Cheonranggaek stroked his beard and spoke.

Saje, sitting beside me, pondered for a moment before saying.

“I too shall follow the disciple’s suggestion. Besides, I’ve already vaguely grasped all your martial arts techniques during practice… so there’s no need to hide them now.”

If Saje said it, it must be true. The shocking scene of deciphering the Demon Sword Technique from the sword marks in the cave was still vivid in my mind.

Upon hearing that, Sinseung chuckled.

“Amitabha. If everyone agrees, and if that’s truly the only way to maintain the heavenly principle against the Blood Demon, then I shall also comply. As Master said, talking of the martial world’s principles while it crumbles is meaningless.”

He began rolling his rosary.

“Alright. Then let’s begin.”

I said this and clapped my hands with a pow!

The first to take the lead was Geumhu.

“My insight is here.”

She took out a book from her bosom. It was labeled ‘Geumhu Diary.’

A diary, suddenly?

“What is this?”

Cheonma asked, looking at the Geumhu diary.

“It was originally a diary I intended to show to Eungong after the matrimonial martial trial, but now, given the urgency, I must present it to you all.”

Geumhu said, her face slightly flushed.

An item she intended to show after the matrimonial trial?

I reflexively reached for the Geumhu Diary.

I opened it and began reading. Flap flap. The pages turned.

My face grew hot as I read its contents.

‘This is…’

The diary vividly and frankly detailed Geumhu’s feelings from the moment I confessed to her until now.

And it was in Geumhu’s unique handwriting.

I already knew Geumhu had feelings for me. She probably held that pure-hearted affection in a most innocent way toward me.

Moreover, the diary openly referred to me as “the one” ( 상공). My face burned even more.

The endless compliments, or rather the embarrassing praise about me being like Songok or a grand man, showed it all.

What kind of insight am I supposed to gain from this?

So are we really sharing this with everyone here?

“Goeryong. What’s written in there that makes your expression so serious?”

I heard Cheonma’s voice from beside me. Should I hand it over? I paused for a moment. Should we really go this far just to defeat the Blood Demon? But the horse was already spilled.

I sighed internally and handed over the diary.

Cheonma received it and turned the pages.

“Hooh.”

A gasp escaped his lips. After seriously scanning through the diary, Cheonma closed the book with a thump and said,

“Indeed, if one believes oneself to be a girl, then they are a girl. Was that the insight that pierced through the wall of Hyeongyeong?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting. Love. I never knew the power of emotion could be so strong. I also didn’t expect someone so much younger, like Yeomwang, to harbor such deep feelings for a boy for so long.”

“Well, I…”

Geumhu’s face turned shyly red as she heard Cheonma’s words.

She said, “I fell for ‘the one’ who confidently declared he’d make a girl like me his. Now, I won’t hide my affection for ‘the one’ any longer. Hehe. ‘The one.’”

Geumhu smiled at me. Hearing her confession made my face blush all over again.

“Uh, uhm.”

I nodded at her confession.

So Geumhu had liked me from the very beginning. That was news to me. And only now did I realize how unaccustomed I was to this sort of situation.

My face was hot, and my heart raced.

The ideal situation laid out in the color spectrum I constructed was indeed happening, but I couldn’t shake off this trembling embarrassment.

“So, love can change a person so much. Such a difficult emotion to grasp. I don’t even know if this is the right way. Is this truly the right kind of insight?”

“Amitabha. Even though the martial world is filled with geniuses like grains of sand, I never thought our Eungong would grasp the teachings of ‘Everything is Created by the Mind’ so well.”

In fact, Cheonma’s expression darkened as he listened to Geumhu’s words. The same confusion was evident on Sinseung, who belonged to the same Buddhist sect.

Their expressions clearly indicated they found it hard to comprehend.

“Hmph. There’s that Geumhu. What gives you the right to call him ‘the one’? Hmph, now it’s Jiyagi’s turn. Jiyagi has also gained insight. The insight is to be honest about one’s desires. To be honest about desires and embrace them, that is how Jiyagi has reached the end of Hyeongyeong.”

Now, it seemed the first-person narrative was switched from “I” to “Jiyagi.”

Headache incoming.

It appeared that Cheonma felt the same way as he sighed and asked Baek Rijiak.

Since Cheonma and Baek Rijiak were both from the same Demon Sect, his expression was particularly troubled.

“Senior Baek, surely the insight doesn’t mean to call the younger generation, Goeryong, ‘Dad,’ right?”

“Correct. Murang doesn’t understand a thing. Isn’t being honest about our desires the essence of our Demon Way? I’m merely adhering to the teachings of our sect.”

Cheonma, called ‘Murang’ by Sosumahu, had a strange expression.

Cheonma sealed his lips and closed his eyes, seemingly holding back something.

It seemed he thought discussing further wouldn’t lead to any valuable dialogue.

“Wait, I’m not an ‘aunt,’ Senior Baek.”

“Hmph. Besides mom and uncle, everyone else is just ‘aunt!’”

The eyes of Sosumahu and Geumhu clashed in the air.

An intangible energy rose from the two.

Seeing this, Sinseung quietly muttered a prayer of disapproval.

“Amitabha. Must it really come to this? The Blood Demon is indeed a formidable opponent.”

Yeah.

Sinseung was right.

This is… Hyeongyeong…?

It’s driving me crazy.

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