Heavenly Demon Cultivation Simulation - Ch 403
“Come in.”
Seol-Hwi said as he sat on the chair positioned behind him.
He decided not to go out to greet and remained in a comfortable posture because it aligned with the philosophy he had resolved in this life.
Don’t lose your composure.
Even in situations where life is at stake, one must have the leisure to drink a cup of tea.
That was the core.
Think about it.
The myriad of emotions he had to endure because of the choices presented by the system.
Insanely painful, sometimes furious, hurt, and sorrowful.
His past life was thoroughly mocked by that thing, so shouldn’t this life be completely different?
The lead of this stage should be ‘himself,’ not ‘that one.’
Creak.
The door opened, and Go-eun slowly entered.
He hadn’t taken many steps before his posture stiffened and he stopped moving.
At the place where Earth Demon should have been, there was someone unfamiliar, so he looked perplexed.
So, Seol-Hwi took the initiative to speak first.
“You’ve come.”
A single, neat word of greeting.
With those words, the focus in Go-eun’s eyes wavered slightly.
Still, as if not wanting to show it, he cautiously began to speak.
“May I ask who you are…?”
“Me, Seol-Hwi.”
“……”
“And the person going to Martial Arts Island.”
Was it because the level of someone going to Martial Arts Island was obvious?
Though there was a brief silence, it seemed a lot of emotions passed through him.
“……”
Afterwards, he sensed that the gaze of the one glaring at him had changed.
Seol-Hwi understood his transformation.
Perfectly wrapping up the wager must have instilled confidence in him.
“Are you the… one called by Earth Demon?”
The guy let Seol-Hwi know that he had determined the person before him was a subordinate.
A strong sense of conviction was felt in his voice.
“Yeah. That’s me…!”
Fwoosh—
Even before he finished his words, Go-eun sprang from his spot.
In an instant, he appeared before Seol-Hwi and threw a punch.
That sudden, decisive punch…
Thud.
Was effortlessly blocked by Seol-Hwi’s raised palm.
“Hey, with things going like this, don’t you feel something’s off?”
“Ah…!”
“Usually by then, it’s too late.”
This time, Seol-Hwi moved.
In a flash, he grabbed Go-eun’s face and slammed him to the ground.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
Go-eun’s body shook slightly.
From Go-eun, who was pinned to the ground, intermittent groans could be heard.
He seemed to still have difficulty understanding how the situation unfolded.
In response, Seol-Hwi leisurely stood up and leaned back against the chair’s backrest.
“And by now, you might be wondering. Why would someone of this caliber head to the Martial Arts Island? If there were other matters at hand, did I act rashly?”
“……”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you. Your role is quite important.”
Go-eun is End Demon’s intelligence agent. He is tasked with reporting.
Seol-Hwi himself pointed to him as someone Earth Demon cherishes.
Someone needed to relay that message.
“I’ll go on my own. You fix the broken floor here and then leave. Got it?”
Nod, nod.
Go-eun, barely regaining his senses, nodded his head, and Seol-Hwi, seeing him, rose from his seat and left the room.
The Martial Arts Island.
Unlike before, it seemed like something quite interesting might happen.
The reason to return as Squad Leader Seol-Hwi.
The reason for visiting the Supreme Pavilion again.
It is precisely to go to this Martial Arts Island.
And he wanted to experience it again.
The options of the system that had mocked him and driven him to death countless times.
He wondered what would happen when he gained the absolute power.
“Here it is.”
Seol-Hwi looked up at the large gate before him.
Though it was a place faint in memory, finding it was surprisingly easy.
Perhaps because it was related to death, the memories remain vivid despite the passage of time.
‘Nice to see you, old man.’
Inside, upon opening the door, sat Ho Cheon-sa.
Come to think of it, those eyes were the same as before.
It was hard to tell whether they were open or closed, but now it seemed clear.
This guy. He is blind.
The pupils within his slightly opened eyes seemed awkward somehow.
Swish.
“Seol-Hwi. Is it you?”
“Yeah.”
The hand of Ho Cheon-sa, about to spread a scroll on the desk, paused.
There was a moment of hesitation, perhaps discomforted by his response.
Then, slowly, he raised his head.
“Oh, that’s right. Are you deaf as well as blind?”
He kindly answered again.
In fact, considering age, he was much older, so he should be grateful for this level of courtesy.
“…….”
The instructor hesitated a bit, then placed just one of the four bamboo slips in front of him.
‘It’s a speech, huh.’
He could roughly guess his intention. It was the same pattern from the past when he was ambushed by the long-haired beggar there.
The old man didn’t like Seol-Hwi’s attitude, so he was directing him to go die there.
“Well, alright. I’ll do it.”
He thought it was actually a good thing.
He even started to miss the unruly fellow who had killed him for being noisy.
“The second door from the right.”
The instructor spoke briefly and closed his eyes. It was a gesture that he didn’t want to converse any further.
However, since it’s been a while since meeting him, a greeting is in order.
“Yeah. See you, blind old man.”
Crunch.
As he turned around, he heard the sound of bamboo being crushed.
It seemed it wasn’t easy for him to hold back his temper.
“I’ll be back soon.”
Seol-Hwi waved at him in response.
Then, with a light step, he opened the second door.
As I descended the stairs leading underground, a small room came into view.
When Seol-Hwi opened the door, curses from the one inside greeted him as if waiting.
“Damn troublesome.”
A long-haired man sitting slanted with his legs on the desk.
As Seol-Hwi smirked, the curses flew straight at him.
“What are you looking at, you bastard.”
The tone and expression gradually brought back old memories.
The first greeting from the guy who suddenly yelled insults.
Seol-Hwi casually approached his desk and struck up a conversation.
“Suddenly, I’m a bit thirsty.”
“…?”
“Hey, you disheveled beggar. Go outside and brew some tea. Something like Dragon Well Tea.”
Was the sudden order from the trainee a fresh shock for him?
His lips, which were staring blankly, soon began to tremble.
Of course, Seol-Hwi had no interest in his reaction.
“What are you staring at so blankly? Not even worth a fistful… Ah, right. Hold on a moment. Let’s choose the options first.”
Seol-Hwi muttered to himself as he turned around.
It was because of the memory of examining the desk when he came before.
“……”
Wrinkles formed on the brow of the long-haired middle-aged man watching.
Turning one’s back to a warrior is an act of disregarding death.
It was no different than asking to be killed.
But when the opponent was so blatant about it, it made him hesitate instead.
It felt like a trap had been laid, inviting him to come in.
Meanwhile, Seol-Hwi glanced around the room’s surroundings and looked down at the porcelain bowl.
“Ah, here it is.”
Then he picked it up. At that moment…
The system reacted.
[This is the first question.] [You have been tasked with a secret mission to kill the Central Plains people. While wandering deep in the mountains, you discover an uninhabited house. Inside, the three Central Plains people you are seeking are hiding.] [They are preparing to leave. Their martial arts skills are either stronger than yours, similar to yours, or weaker than yours. And conveniently, your superior is not nearby. How do you respond?] ▶ Attempt an ambush to eliminate the enemy. ▷ Disguise as a murim warrior and attempt to converse with them. ▷ Wait around the house until the leader arrives. ▷ 10…… 9……
‘Well. What should I call this…….’
It was nice to see it again after a long time, but the decreasing time and everything didn’t evoke the same feelings as before.
The memories of the past, when he was desperate to find an answer, now approached with a completely different feeling.
To be honest, it’s like this.
Whatever he chooses—It feels like he could make them all into answers.
‘Did I choose this back then?’
[You have chosen ‘Wait around the house until the leader arrives.’ The story continues.]
Seol-Hwi, who had chosen without much thought, slowly turned his body.
“Ha…….”
A sudden chuckle from the long-haired man.
He soon nodded and chuckled quietly.
Then, when Seol-Hwi looked at him curiously, he raised the corners of his mouth.
“What a fool. To think I hesitated even for a moment with an idiot like this…”
“What are you saying?”
“Heh. So, your answer is to wait around the house until your boss arrives?”
“……”
“You moron—Aaah—”
The middle-aged man slammed the table and charged at Seol-Hwi with a roar.
And before he could even swing his sword.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
He went straight back to where he started.
Seol-Hwi had kicked him hard in the stomach.
Crash!
The man was thrown into the desk and chair he had been sitting at earlier, smashing them to pieces, and then rolled further on the floor before coming to a stop.
Afterwards, items from the shelf above fell onto his head.
He looked every bit the perfect beggar.
“I told you to bring the tea, and here you are making a scene all by yourself.”
The long-haired man stood there with his mouth wide open.
The pain in his abdomen was instantly forgotten due to the utterly nonsensical situation.
Just a mere martial arts trainee.
He was sent rolling on the ground, unable to counter a simple trainee’s kick.
How?
How could a trainee who came to take an exam be this strong?
“Alright, since it’s come to this, let’s do it this way. This time, I’ll pose a problem. I’ll give you four choices like you did.”
Seol-Hwi approached the long-haired man, who was slowly coming to grips with reality, and met his gaze.
“If you get it right, I’ll spare you. But if you get it wrong, you die. How about it? An interesting proposal, isn’t it?”
Seol-Hwi’s question was gentle, but what the long-haired man saw was a demon rampaging from hell.
He finally realized that the opponent was not just any trainee, but it was already too late.
“Now, my problem is the same as yours. Three people from the Central Plains are stronger than you, similar to you, or weaker than you. How would you respond? Count to ten.”
“Ah…”
Before the long-haired man could even roll his eyes, the opponent had already spread his palm and was folding his fingers one by one.
At least for Seol-Hwi, setting a time limit was a very sensible thing to do.
“I will… wait near the house until the leader arrives.”
“Oh!”
Seol-Hwi reacted as if surprised.
Was it that glimmer of hope he saw in that expression?
The long-haired man’s face slowly brightened.
“Did I get it right?”
Seol-Hwi showed a bright expression in return. Then, as he subtly lifted the corner of his mouth, this time the long-haired man followed suit.
At that moment.
“I don’t know either, man.”
Before the words were even finished, a fist like a boulder flew in like a flash of lightning.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
The sound of clothes dragging on the floor echoed in the hall.
The gaze of the silently breath-holding guardian moved to the side.
There was no need for the blind man to turn his head to see. He merely responded to the sounds he heard.
Thud.
And one of the figures who intentionally made that sound casually placed something on the ground.
As the guardian waited in silence,
“You said he’d come quickly, right?”
“……!”
His eyebrows twitched at the familiar voice.
From the sound, it was easy to discern there were two people, but at least in his calculations, Seol-Hwi was not expected.
Perhaps because of that, when his head moved slightly to one side,
“Ah, this guy. He was a bit unruly, so I brought him along. I usually judge by attitude, and he was quite delinquent.”
“…….”
“Ah, of course, I didn’t kill him. I tend to avoid meaningless killing… Well, minor injuries are common occurrences, right?”
It was certainly not easy to elicit a meaningful reaction from him, as expected of a seasoned guardian instructor.
Even after throwing the educator down, his emotional control was impeccable.
The guardian instructor soon pulled out a card from his bosom.
‘As expected, he knows how to play his cards.’
The final test, where those who took the test gather to compete in martial arts.
Naturally, it’s the most difficult test and one that must be passed.
‘But this guy… not a word, huh?’
Seol-Hwi’s lips curled up. In the previous life, he spoke about the number of bamboo and the time.
But this time, seeing him silent, it seemed as if he was determined not to share important information at all.
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
Seol-Hwi turned around nonchalantly. Then, after taking a few steps, he stopped again.
“See you again, old man.”
Leaving those words behind, Seol-Hwi headed to the final test location.