The Heavenly Demon
The Heavenly Demon. What exactly does that name mean?
Before I knew it, two weeks remained until midterms. So much had happened in that short time. The Power Thief, an attack by a Demon King’s Army executive, the Hero Appointment Ceremony. It almost felt like a full year had already passed. Not literally, of course. It just felt that way.
‘Only two months have gone by…?’
That’s right. It had been less than two months since I started my fifth regression. A chilling realization. Then again, I could understand why it felt so long. Every single day was packed with shocking events, so time seemed to crawl at a miserable pace. In previous turns, until things really got on track, my days had mostly consisted of endless training. That made the passage of time feel even slower.
Anyway, the reason I was suddenly lost in this monologue was simple.
There was a very important reason.
“Your posture is sloppy! Add five hundred more squats with spirit! The foundation of combat begins in the lower body!”
“Aaaargh!!!”
“What kind of answer is that? Both the Hero and the Hero’s Companion can only muster that much spirit?!”
Because tasting Marianne’s hellish training again made me want to forget, even for a moment, the bitter taste of reality.
‘Ah… I miss the moderate training I did with Shao Mei…’
Here’s what had happened.
Apparently, after Shao Mei sent a letter home on my behalf, her father flew into a rage.
“What? That damn brat has been glued to my daughter since they were kids, and now he wants to take her as his wife?! And the legal wife is supposed to be Princess Agnes?!?!”
…It was true that Shao Mei had been a little too honest in her letter. But since the harem was bound to be discovered eventually, let’s just move on.
However, the Five Sacred Commanders held critical positions that couldn’t be abandoned in the Republican Federation. Especially the first among them, the War God Lin Xiaofeng, was like a living strategic weapon. He couldn’t come in person. So the one who came instead was the former first of the Five Sacred Commanders—the Heavenly Demon, Lin Xiangfei.
She was a character who wasn’t even mentioned in the original novel. But having lived twenty-one years in this world, I couldn’t help but be utterly shocked by that name. She was a retired “legend” who, alongside the heroes, had taken down three of the Demon King’s seven subordinates and legion commanders. A name that carried that kind of weight.
Well, the important thing wasn’t who Lin Xiangfei was, but why I was suddenly receiving hellish training from Marianne. That story requires rewinding time a little.
*
“I tested the man my great-granddaughter acknowledged, but this is all he amounts to? How disappointing!”
As the Heavenly Demon shouted, her indigo pigtails fluttering in the wind, Olga, standing beside her, glared at the old woman.
“Heavenly Demon, I’m sorry, but this is a place for treating patients. Could you please be quiet? And refrain from stirring up gusts of energy, if you would.”
“…Hmm. My apologies. Still, I must maintain some semblance of dignity, mustn’t I?”
Less than ten minutes after leaving the church, Cayen and I were lying in the church’s infirmary, receiving healing from Thomas and Olga.
‘Why the hell did the Heavenly Demon suddenly fall from the sky…? I don’t get it.’
I was incredibly pissed off. Getting beaten? I could endure that. If some guy confidently declared he was going to take my daughter as one of his wives, I’d want to smash his face too. What made me truly resentful was that this person called the Heavenly Demon was someone I had desperately wanted to meet in every previous turn, yet never could.
The living incarnation of martial arts. The one who had laid the foundation for the Taishan Dojo under the current War God Lin Xiaofeng and accelerated the development of martial arts in the Republican Federation by several times. A figure so great that even archmages would have to concede a step to her in terms of sheer reputation. I had visited several times hoping to receive her guidance.
—“The elders of our dojo have secluded themselves from the world, so it seems you will not be able to meet them.”—
Every single time, I was turned away at the gate. Even when I brought the Hero Cayen or asked Shao Mei to help, I was always refused. And now she came to me in person?
Still, I couldn’t get angry. Frankly, it wouldn’t do me any good to make an enemy of one of the great elders of the family I would marry into. Besides, this was a golden opportunity to obtain a fortuitous encounter I had always wanted but could never reach.
“Um… Shao Mei’s great-grandmother…?”
“Saying it like that makes me sound old. Call me Heavenly Demon, or Xiangfei, if you prefer.”
“Yes, Heavenly Demon.”
“Calling me ‘sister’ might be a bit much, but rejecting ‘Heavenly Demon’ outright hurts my feelings.”
“…No, but still, how could I possibly call Shao Mei’s great-grandmother ‘sister’?”
After observing the Heavenly Demon for a while, I learned a few things.
First, this grandmother was incredibly shameless. The way she deliberately stirred up her qi to make her hair flutter dramatically, and the fact that she insisted I call her “sister” despite being over a hundred and thirty years older than even the ancient virgin Sirca. If I didn’t have my ultimate poker face skill, I might have burst out laughing and been forcibly regressed on the spot.
Second, I could now see where Shao Mei got her… impressive figure and choice of clothing. If someone who didn’t know any better saw her, they would probably think she and Shao Mei were cousins rather than great-grandmother and great-granddaughter. Of course, Shao Mei’s beastman blood gave her the superior bust and hips, but the Heavenly Demon’s own generous chest, slender waist, and wrinkle-free skin were still enough to draw involuntary admiration.
If only I didn’t know her age.
‘Is that the reversal of aging realm they talk about in murim novels…?’
Still, her outfit was definitely shameless. Walking around so boldly in that revealing qipao-style dress—did she have no sense of shame at all?
“Why are you staring at my clothes so intently?”
“Ah, it just reminded me of the clothes Shao Mei wears…”
“Aha! Those are the clothes I personally chose for my adorable great-granddaughter! My sense of style isn’t bad, is it?”
“Yes, it seems quite excellent.”
“Artin…”
Olga and Cayen, lying beside me, clicked their tongues, but I ignored them and kept nodding vigorously. Honestly, what man wouldn’t admire a qipao that revealed the chest so boldly? Even the Demon King’s executives would have to acknowledge it.
“Your body is pathetically frail, but at least you have an eye for beauty! I’m slightly impressed! I only held back half my strength with the intention of killing you halfway, yet you only ended up with a few fractures. Not bad!”
“Ah, yes… thank you for looking at it favorably. It’s all thanks to Shao Mei’s help.”
Third, she was ridiculously weak to praise and flattery. Last time she had appeared out of nowhere, clicked her tongue in disappointment, but after I added a bit of praise, I could clearly see her trying to hold back a smile.
“Well, don’t worry! I will personally temper that frail body of yours! Roll around in Taishan Dojo for three years, and you’ll be able to fight the Demon King’s Army without shame!”
“I’m grateful for the offer, but being locked up in Taishan Dojo for three years of closed-door training is a bit…”
If I had started this turn without memory regression and met the Heavenly Demon while studying martial arts, I probably would have jumped at the chance and followed her to the dojo without hesitation.
‘It’s not just rapid leveling—it’s a max-level character personally carrying me to the absolute limit. Of course I’d say yes.’
…But I couldn’t do that now. Leave my beloved women behind and disappear for three years? In three years, the Demon King’s Army could cause all kinds of disasters, and my women might die before I even returned. Even if they weren’t my women, Professor Sennia would probably face ten near-death crises.
‘Absolutely not. I cannot be dragged to Taishan Dojo.’
In the end, I decided to take only as much of this fortuitous encounter as I could reasonably digest. If it became too much, I would boldly give it up.
“Hoh, are you rejecting my teaching? If you’re just saying empty words to look cool, it won’t work on me!”
“No. I’m serious. I already have a master, and what I asked Shao Mei for was an instructor who could teach me at the Academy, not closed-door training.”
“…Really? You’re truly rejecting my teaching? For real? Me, the Heavenly Demon?”
“Yes. Closed-door training is impossible.”
Her dignity seemed to crumble more and more, but I firmly refused with a resolute expression.
“…A Hero is not simply a strong being. Cayen must save many people. And as the Companion of the Hero, I must stay by his side.”
“Artin…”
“…This is upsetting, Cayen.”
Cayen, who had been watching from the side, looked moved by my words, but Olga spoke my true feelings for me, so I quietly shut my mouth and stared at the Heavenly Demon Xiangfei.
“…No.”
“…Pardon? What did you say?”
“No. That cannot be allowed!”
“…? What do you mean it can’t be allowed…”
At that moment, I tried to make a puzzled face but could only freeze in shock. The Heavenly Demon moved like the wind, instantly climbing onto my bed. Then, with movements as fluid as water, she mounted me. Finally, she gripped my shoulders with a grip as fierce as fire. Every motion was a single, perfect technique without the slightest waste.
“H-Heavenly Demon—!”
The moment I tried to speak, as Olga and Cayen moved in surprise at her sudden action, the Heavenly Demon looked down at me with blazing eyes and shouted.
“…?? Wait, calm down and let go first—ugh, you’re heavy?!”
I tried to knock away the hands gripping my shoulders, but those seemingly delicate hands held on with a grip so firm that no amount of my strength could pry them off.
“I won’t let go…! I will stay right here until you agree to come with me! So speak quickly! Say you will go to Taishan Dojo with me!!”
“Heavenly Demon! Please calm down and let go! Olga! Cayen! Someone help me!”
“O-Okay, Artin!”
“Good grief, is this really one of the Five Sacred Commanders…? She’s acting like a total child!”
Cayen and Olga grabbed the Heavenly Demon’s shoulders and tried to pull her off, but she remained as immovable as Mount Taishan itself sitting on top of me. Her body was so light, yet her presence was impossibly heavy. I could only let out a dumbfounded smile mixed with bewilderment and pure admiration.
“No!! I already promised to take my great-granddaughter’s husband to Taishan Dojo!! If I go back like this, how can I face my grandchild?!”
“This isn’t something that can be solved by throwing a tantrum, Heavenly Demon!!”
“…She’s too heavy…! It feels like I’m trying to pull a giant!”
“Absolutely! Absolutely not! You chose Shao Mei! You chose Taishan Dojo! You must receive the training no matter what!”
*
“Will Brother be okay…?”
Shao Mei, tightly bound with restraints in the Gold Dormitory, let out a deep sigh as she worried about Artin, who was currently suffering at the hands of her great-grandmother.
“He probably didn’t commit suicide, right? But no matter how capable Brother is, there’s no way to deal with Great-Grandmother…”
Thinking of her great-grandmother who had filled her with restraints under the excuse of “cooling her head,” Shao Mei couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. Among all the people she knew, the one who understood the concept of cooling one’s head the least was none other than her own great-grandmother.
“Once Great-Grandmother decides to throw a tantrum, she keeps throwing it until she gets what she wants…”
A long time ago, Taishan Dojo had a rule that martial arts must not be taught to women. Because of that outdated rule set thousands of years ago, her great-grandmother—who was said to possess the greatest talent in history—could not learn martial arts.
But her great-grandmother never gave up.
…The history books recorded that the Heavenly Demon’s oath shook the heavens and moved the earth, forcing the elders to grant permission.
However, having heard the story directly from her grandfather and father, Shao Mei knew the truth.
The ten-year-old great-grandmother, who hadn’t even been interested in martial arts, had simply seen her younger brother training and whined that she wanted to try it too. Of course, the head of the family at the time—her great-great-grandfather—had refused the young Xiangfei and showed her many other paths instead…
After that, her great-grandmother Lin Xiangfei threw tantrums for a full twenty years.
The problem was that, just as the history books recorded, her great-grandmother possessed unparalleled martial talent. She smashed the dojo’s training equipment with her fists, bent swords reinforced with iron cores, and completely destroyed the ten thousand steps of Mount Taishan—which were said to provide training simply by climbing them—using only the power of her legs.
When the elders, fearing she would ruin the entire dojo, locked her in a cave for closed-door training, she broke down the entrance with raw strength. No one could stop her. In the end, left with only two choices—kill her or teach her martial arts—the elders and her great-great-grandfather finally allowed her to train.
—“My grandfather said… if they had tried to kill Mother, he would have been prepared to lose an arm as well…”—
Recalling her grandfather’s distant reminiscence, Shao Mei shivered.
Even after that, the Heavenly Demon always obtained whatever she desired. Whether by throwing tantrums, using force, or using even greater force.
When Shao Mei first heard that her great-grandmother had fallen in love at first sight with her great-grandfather, chased him for ten years, ruined all his dating prospects, and eventually married him, she thought it was a lie. But the look on her grandfather’s face as he told the story held not a trace of humor.
—“Remember this. Your great-grandmother… is an incredibly stubborn woman.”—
Many people said that since she had no equal under the heavens, she deserved to be called the Heavenly Demon.
…But within Taishan Dojo, the name carried a slightly different meaning.
Because her stubbornness could not be broken even by the heavens themselves, and she accomplished anything she set her mind to…
…The strongest stubborn woman in the world.
That was also what they called the Heavenly Demon.
“Brother… you’ll be okay, right?”
Worried about what that stubborn Heavenly Demon might do next, Shao Mei’s anxiety grew rapidly. She had no idea yet that her worries would prove to be completely justified.
“Haa…”