ILDBL 29

Chapter: 29

I’m Not the Demonic Cult Leader, I’m the Baby Family Head

Karina’s eyes went wide at Ariel’s sudden appearance.

“Do you even know what it is you’re asking to learn?”

Ariel replied with a bright smile.

“Aren’t you teaching people how to get stronger?”

…That was true. It was about getting stronger.

Karina pressed her fingers to her forehead and let out a faint sigh.

“It’s not something you can learn that easily.”

“But you’re planning to teach Denian, aren’t you?”

“……”

Karina narrowed her eyes and looked Ariel over from head to toe as she smiled innocently.

There was such a thing as being born with martial talent.

Innate disposition and bone structure. Natural physical ability and rapid comprehension.

In that regard, Denian was close to a natural martial prodigy—but Ariel was far from it.

If anything, she was frail.

She managed to compensate for many shortcomings thanks to her near-cheating regenerative healing ability, but she couldn’t be compared to someone like Denian, who was born with exceptional martial aptitude.

As if she had sensed Karina’s hesitation, Ariel’s expression darkened.

“I don’t expect to become as strong as Isaac or you. I just… don’t want to be a burden to you all.”

Ariel’s bitter smile made both Karina and Denian widen their eyes.

“My combat ability is way behind the others, isn’t it?”

At Ariel’s dejected words, Karina scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

“A burden? Your healing ability helps everyone more than you realize.”

“…But if I join the friendly match like this, will I really be any help?”

“……”

Karina couldn’t answer right away.

Even she had been thinking of excluding non-combatants from the friendly match.

Still, Ariel’s healing ability was undeniably overpowered.

Of course, if the enemy learned of her ability, they would target her relentlessly.

But if Ariel could at least protect herself…

Then her absurd healing power would become devastatingly effective.

After pondering for a while, Karina pressed her forehead again and sighed deeply.

No matter how she looked at it, the answer was already decided.

If this were the Karina of the past, she would have taught Ariel a cultivation method without hesitation.

But now, strangely, she couldn’t bring herself to say yes so easily.

“You could die if this goes wrong.”

Unlike Denian, a natural prodigy who had already once sensed and retraced the flow of meridians, this was extremely dangerous for Ariel.

That thought weighed heavily on Karina.

“If I hadn’t entered the Duke’s household, I would already be dead anyway.”

At Ariel’s resolute words, Karina let out a resigned sigh.

Then, as if she had made up her mind, she looked straight at Ariel with sharp eyes.

“Fine. I’ll teach you.”

Both Ariel’s and Denian’s faces brightened instantly.

Watching the two of them clasp hands and celebrate, Karina had to rub her forehead again.

Did they even realize how dangerous this was…?

Still, the two of them were blessed with extraordinary luck.

After all, the one teaching them personally was the former leader of the Heavenly Demonic Cult—someone who had mastered all martial arts and reached the realm of enlightenment.

It was a privilege even the Four Demonic Lords of the cult had never enjoyed.

“First, copy my posture.”

As Karina sat down in a lotus position, Ariel and Denian mimicked her as best they could.

Karina adjusted their postures with her own hands as she instructed them.

“What I’m teaching you isn’t a powerful technique—it’s a cultivation method that forms the foundation of strength.”

“A cultivation method?”

“Put simply, it’s closer to teaching you how to breathe.”

…Just breathing?

Ariel looked confused, but Karina continued firmly.

“You draw in energy as you inhale, and expel impure energy as you exhale. It’s better to experience it than to just listen.”

With that, Karina moved behind the seated Ariel and Denian and pressed along the meridian points on their backs.

“I’ll guide the flow of energy directly by touching your meridians. Memorize the path and gather the energy in your dantian.”

It sounded simple—but in reality, it was an extremely complex and profound task.

Of course, it looked like neither of them truly understood what she was saying.

“What’s a dantian?”

“…Think of it as a space below your navel where energy gathers. You haven’t even formed one yet, so first we need to open your meridians and create the dantian.”

Seeing the utterly lost expressions on their faces, Karina let out a deep sigh.

This road is way too long…

* * *

The first cultivation method a martial artist learns determines their entire future.

In that sense, her past self—known as Heukcheon Biyeon—had started down the wrong path from the beginning.

Unable to learn the direct lineage techniques—Honcheon Demon Art and Heavenly Demon Heart Method—she instead learned a crude, common demonic art as her first cultivation method.

Even within the Demonic Cult, there were elite families that formed its core leadership, each possessing their own foundational cultivation methods.

Even servants of non-direct heirs opened their first dantian with respectable techniques.

But she—without even a family to belong to—had almost no choices.

She eventually learned Honcheon Demon Art and Heavenly Demon Heart Method after becoming the Cult Leader, but once inner energy had been cultivated incorrectly from the start, it was incredibly difficult to correct.

Perhaps that was why she had never reached the Realm of Life and Death.

This time, however, she was properly cultivating with the Heavenly Demon Heart Method—though she nearly died opening her first meridian.

That was how important the first cultivation method was.

Karina looked at Denian and Ariel with astonishment.

She had taught each of them a different method.

Since demonic cultivation didn’t suit Ariel’s healing abilities, she taught her So Cheonseong Gong (小天星功)—the basic cultivation method of the Zhuge Clan, renowned for compensating weak physiques.

Denian, on the other hand, with his cold heart and poison-like resolve, was clearly suited to the tyrannical path of the Demonic Cult.

So she taught him Ice-Heaven Asura Demon Art (氷天修羅魔功), a technique that would amplify his strengths to the extreme.

And the results were astonishing.

Surprisingly, Ariel was progressing at an incredible speed.

So Cheonseong Gong was easier to learn than Ice-Heaven Asura Demon Art, but even accounting for that, her rate of comprehension was remarkable.

Perhaps because she had long used healing abilities, she quickly grasped how to circulate energy.

After only half a day, Ariel completed her first cycle and opened her eyes.

“Did I… do well?”

At Ariel’s dazed expression, Karina smiled warmly.

“Yes. You did very well.”

Tears welled up in Ariel’s eyes as she suddenly threw herself into Karina’s arms.

“See?! I told you I could do it!”

“Yes, yes.”

As she patted Ariel’s trembling back, Karina glanced at Denian.

He sat with his eyes closed, icy energy radiating off him in waves. His brow twitched occasionally, muscles spasming—clearly struggling to open his meridians.

Which was only natural.

Ice-Heaven Asura Demon Art required carving open meridians and forming a dantian using frigid energy at its absolute extreme.

A normal human would have frozen to death long ago—organs and blood vessels shattered.

Even within the Demonic Cult, it was among the most difficult and dangerous cultivation methods.

There was a reason she had taught such a brutal technique only to Denian.

Yes, his natural talent played a role.

But more than that—

His calmness and ruthless mental fortitude, unbefitting his age.

They said words reflected the heart.

Perhaps because Denian rarely spoke, the world within his heart was cold and empty.

A steadfast, immovable mind that could carry out its will without wavering.

That was the perfect foundation for Ice-Heaven Asura Demon Art.

“…Denian will be okay, right?”

Ariel looked at him anxiously.

“Who knows.”

Karina couldn’t be certain either.

In the past, she would have forcibly opened his meridians through Bone-Cleansing and Marrow-Purging.

But that technique required inner power cultivated for at least ten years.

With Karina barely past five years of cultivation, attempting it would kill both Denian—and herself.

All they could do now was wait for Denian to break through on his own.

Then—

Without warning, Denian suddenly vomited blood.

 “Denian!”