There are largely two factions in the Little Demon Academy.
A group composed of those who started in the Little Demon Academy from the beginning.
Commonly, the children of powerful families in the Heavenly Demon Cult, or children whose talents have already been verified, belong here.
And a group that started from the nursery and entered the Little Demon Academy after breaking through fierce competition.
That was the faction I belonged to. The forr faction was gathered in one place, discussing the Sword Path Test they had just received from the instructor.
For young brats to be networking already.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that I was also part of that networking scene.
I asked one of the children who had gathered and taken a seat near .
"Um... your na is?"
"How many tis do I have to tell you, it's Gwang Se-hyeon!"
"Right. Your na was Gwang Se-hyeon!"
The Fifth Elder's grandson.
But with this guy's background and talent, he would have more than enough to squeeze his butt in over there and sit down, so why did he start from the nursery?
To solve my curiosity, I asked.
"Aren't you going over there? You're more than qualified."
"Hmph! Don't put in the sa class as those cheap bastards! My grandfather said that only those who survive through fierce competition without using tricks beco true masters!"
"You got your ass kicked by at the end of that competition."
"Eeeeeek!"
Gwang Se-hyeon, grinding his teeth and trembling.
He ca back to his senses.
Look at that attitude change!
"My grandfather said! That cleanly admitting defeat to the winner is also a virtue for becoming stronger!"
Gwang Se-hyeon seed to respect his grandfather very much. Well, since a Heavenly Demon Cult elder is on the level of a sect leader of a decent faction, it was understandable.
"Did your gwandpa say that?"
"He did!"
He's still young. Seeing that I was defending him, he seed to have cheered up right away.
But what does that have to do with you being next to ? Just then, Gwang Se-hyeon solved my curiosity for .
"Since I lost to you, I will also serve you as my captain, just like your other lackeys!"
I replied to those words.
"I don't want to."
* * *
As I moved my seat, I could see Gwang Se-hyeon frozen in place with a shocked face.
Then he started grinding his teeth again, going "Eeeeeek!"
Well, if I leave him be, he'll probably co back to his senses on his own like before.
The Sword Demoness, the Mad Demon, and the Demonic Brain, who had been scattered for a while, naturally gathered around .
"Captain! Teach that thing from back then!"
The paper with the sword path drawn on it that the Mad Demon had received from the instructor was nowhere to be seen, and he had been pestering since yesterday to teach him how to break the Art of Diverting Flowers and Grafting Trees that the Sword Demoness had shown.
"Did you finish correcting the sword path?"
Even though there's no worry of being eliminated from the Little Demon Academy, it's still a test, so shouldn't you submit an answer sheet?
And this Mad Demon guy! If you want to beco an elder later, you have to start building up your achievents diligently from now on!
Only then will I be able to suck the honey!
As long as I've decided to stay at the main headquarters! A connection with an elder will be the strongest backer!
"Of course! The Sword Demoness and the Demonic Brain have already finished too!"
"Give all three."
I couldn't believe it. I knew the answer because of my knowledge from before my regression, but those three had just received the sword path.
Even my pre-regression self had to think for about an hour before coming up with an answer.
"Jae-ha, here."
First, the Sword Demoness handed the sword path paper she had corrected.
I checked the paper and stared blankly at the Sword Demoness. The Sword Demoness slightly averted her eyes. She must be embarrassed now that she's shown it.
Let's see. Hmm...
'Out of the three original wrong places, only one part has been corrected, the speed part.'
This could be considered a low-grade answer sheet among high, middle, and low. But there was one hidden elent here.
"You erased the original sword path in this part and added a new one?"
The Sword Demoness answered my question as if it were nothing.
"Yeah. This looked better."
"I-I see."
The sword path the Sword Demoness had drawn was definitely unstable. But if you were to perform it according to this sword path, you could perform it much faster than the original Demonic True Sword Art.
In other words, if they both perford the sa sword art against each other, the Sword Demoness's sword art would kill the opponent first.
If I were the instructor, the score I would give this answer sheet would be at least high-grade.
" too! Look at mine too!"
"Alright. Give it here."
The next answer sheet I looked at, the Mad Demon's, was very simple. At a glance, it seed there couldn't be a more insincere answer sheet.
The Demonic True Sword Art is a technique composed of twelve sword paths, combining heaven, earth, and man with east, west, south, and north.
But the Mad Demon's answer sheet I was looking at now had only one sword path drawn on it.
'If soone with a shallow level of martial arts had seen this, they would have imdiately given it a low-grade score.'
But I was soone who had stepped into the Transcendent Realm before my regression.
My eyes could see the hidden elent in this answer sheet.
The Mad Demon, when you think about it, is a fist user, not a swordsman. Therefore, the Mad Demon found the answer not in the way of a swordsman, but in the way of a fist user.
He erased all the sword paths that were unnecessary for him to extend his fist and only kept the tyranny sword path, modifying it so that he could perform it better.
"You did... well?"
"Right, right!"
When I shifted my gaze to the Demonic Brain kid, he was still sleeping. I took out the answer sheet that the sleeping Demonic Brain had carefully kept in his bosom and looked at it.
Fortunately, the Demonic Brain had also corrected the sword path before falling asleep. And after seeing the Demonic Brain's answer sheet, I couldn't help but be genuinely impressed.
'This can be said to be an answer sheet that has completely grasped the creator's intention.'
The three original wrong sword paths were perfectly corrected.
In terms of talent as a martial artist, the answer sheets of the Mad Demon and the Sword Demoness in front could be said to be more outstanding, but at this point, it was no exaggeration to say that the Demonic Brain had written the most perfect answer sheet.
At this rate, the top student was confird to be the Demonic Brain.
Just then, the Sword Demoness spoke.
"Show us Jae-ha's too."
"..."
"That's right! Show us the Captain's too! It's cheap if you only show us ours!"
"..."
For a Mad Demon, he brought up an irrefutable logic, so I had nothing to say. I imdiately extended my arm and spread my five fingers.
"Just give five corners!"
Because I hadn't solved the problem yet.
* * *
Facing the sword path of the Demonic True Sword Art again, I was lost in a very short thought.
Should I just correct two places and go for the middle?
Should I correct all three places and aim for a high rank?
Or should I just correct one place and not stand out?
From the Little Demon Academy onwards, every single action becos a subject of evaluation.
'If I stand out too much, I don't know when or how my future plans might get distorted again.'
Didn't I experience it before? What kind of result cos out when you face a situation that surpasses your strength.
For now, I could write an answer sheet that transcended the ones written by the Sword Demoness, the Mad Demon, and the Demonic Brain.
I just had to simply pick about two of the wrong sword paths of speed, change, and tyranny and modify them to a faster speed, a more complex change, or a stronger tyranny.
Well, before my regression, I had corrected all three of these to be faster, more complex, and stronger, and I had taken the top spot in this test, and I was able to enter the highest martial arts library, the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts Library.
There, I learned the Ten Demon Divine Art, a derivative martial art of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, and I caught the eye of the Heavenly Demon who recognized it and was able to beco the Young Lord. Of course, my current self knows the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, so I had no need to learn the Ten Demon Divine Art, nor did I need to enter the Heavenly Demon Martial Arts Library.
Not just the Heavenly Demon Divine Art! The martial arts of the ten elders of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the qi arts of the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects were all in my head.
My thoughts ca to an end.
'Alright! Let's just test the waters for now!'
I had no intention of standing out from the beginning.
In the first place, everything I needed to obtain was already in my head.
The most ideal judgnt was to see how the situation flows and then decide on my next move.
'Then, considering the scope of my future movents, it's more comfortable not to receive anyone's attention.'
I might be called here and there for no reason and face another variable.
'In tis like this, there's nothing as comfortable as being last.'
Recalling my first mory before my regression, the mission given to the last place in this Sword Path Test was being a gatekeeper at the main castle gate.
'Good! After the mission is over, I can have free ti, and going outside the main castle is also freer compared to other missions!'
To say it again, the Little Demon Academy is not just a place to learn martial arts. From the Little Demon Academy onwards, you are a proper combatant of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Although they were still young, the Heavenly Demon Cult treated them as individual martial artists.
Well, when deployed on a mission, there is a senior, and the students just watch what the senior does and follow along.
'Then how should I modify it to get last place?'
I carefully erased or added to the existing sword path. I couldn't help but admire the final product.
'Ahhh! It can't be more perfect than this!'
On the answer sheet, the heaven, earth, and man, which are the foundation of the sword path, were completely reversed.
The so-called Reversal of Heaven.
From beginning to end, everything was twisted.
The sword path based on speed was made slow, the sword path based on change was made simple, and the sword path based on tyranny was made weak.
And so, the sword art that was born beca a sword art that had only disadvantages, with none of the original advantages to be found.
Moreover, if you were to perform the sword art like this, the energy would get twisted, making it impossible to perform at all.
All sword arts, no, leaving aside sword arts, all martial arts are created based on humans. Because the person performing the martial art is, of course, a human.
Therefore, all martial arts have heaven, earth, and man as their basic concept.
Man stands on the ground and exists under the heavens.
This is the foundation of all martial arts.
I completely reversed that.
If that happens, the ground to stand on disappears, and man will fall endlessly from the reversed heavens.
This couldn't be called a martial art in the first place.
If you were to perform this as a martial art, soone with enough internal energy to maintain balance even in mid-air would have to forcibly fix their body with internal energy and establish a new heaven, earth, and man based on the void.
And what about the sword art? It has to be perford slowly but quickly, simply but complexly, and weakly but strongly.
It can be said to be a martial art that is completely illogical, a collection of paradoxes upon paradoxes.
I can say with certainty that there will not be another shitty martial art like this in this world.
"Here! Look!"
I showed the completed answer sheet to the Mad Demon with a proud heart. The Mad Demon tilts his head.
"Umm... it's complicated!"
Yes. I knew you would have that reaction, you simpleton.
The Sword Demoness snatched it away and looked at it for a long ti before answering.
"It's profound."
Yes. To the Sword Demoness, who hadn't completely established the concept of sword arts yet, it could look plausible.
The Demonic Brain, for so reason, had his eyes open and was looking at my answer sheet. Then he looked over once, closed his eyes again, and turned over.
Yes. I could never tell what that guy was thinking, even in the old days.
A mont later, the instructor ca in and collected the answer sheets. And since today's schedule was over, he sent everyone back to their dorms. Sothing about not causing trouble.
As befitting the best educational institution of the Heavenly Demon Cult, the dorms were all private rooms.
I had no intention of waiting until the results ca out.
Sitting in my room, my heart wanted to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art right away, but if I did that, I might be discovered by the Heavenly Demon and my life might be cut short, so I decided to learn the Demonic True Heart thod, which was the most appropriate for building a foundation.
This Demonic True Heart thod was also one of the high-grade heart thods, enough to reach the Peak Realm without much trouble if you practiced it consistently.
Though I intended to use this only as a foundation and then discard it.
'When I reach the Transcendent Realm where I can hide my internal energy to so extent, then I'll learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art!'
You always have to leave a trump card to survive in this harsh martial world.
Settling the Demonic True Heart thod in my body was easier than eating cold porridge for , who had already reached the Transcendent Realm once.
* * *
The chief instructor in charge of the Little Demon Academy handed four answer sheets to the Sword Demon.
"Hah! You can't decide who the top student is among the children, so you're pushing it to ? I'll have to set a day and properly establish discipline."
"I apologize."
In a way, one could be upset at the instructor's incompetence, but in another way, it could also be seen as a situation where there are that many outstanding talents in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The Sword Demon began to look at the answer sheets, focusing on the latter. And after looking at one answer sheet, the Sword Demon's eyes began to tremble violently. Soon, the trembling spread to his face, arms, body, legs, and finally, all the fine hairs on his entire body began to tremble.
The Sword Demon's eyes moved to the instructor's evaluation written on the answer sheet.
[This is a sword path I have never seen before, so it is difficult for to evaluate it with my ability. I ask that the Sword Demon personally evaluate it.]
On the answer sheet the Sword Demon was holding, a sword path with heaven, earth, and man reversed was drawn.
The Sword Demon closed his eyes and imdiately sat in the lotus position.
Soon, a huge vortex of energy began to rage in the Sword Demon Hall.
* * *
Tsk. With my current ability, the 3rd star of the Demonic True Heart thod was the limit.
"Won't a spiritual pill fall from sowhere. Then I think I could even reach the 10th star at once.”
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