Chapter 21: Four Steps Are Enough
Chapter 21: Four Steps Are Enough
“Hahahaha!”
My father’s laughter thundered through the Main Hall, vibrating in the very air.
“Is my declaration to kill someone really that amusing to you?” I asked.
His laughter cut off abruptly. When he spoke, his voice was laced with absolute certainty.
“You might be able to kill a Demon Monarch, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon is out of the question.”
In other words, I wasn't strong enough to kill him yet.
“Then why did you pit me against him? You must take responsibility for this!”
“Fine, I shall.”
His answer was as swift as his decision to thrust the responsibility onto me.
“I am appointing you as the Huangquan Pavilion Master.”
I froze. I truly hadn't expected him to appoint me to such a position, not even in my wildest dreams.
“Is that even possible?”
Of course, nothing was impossible if it was the will of the Heavenly Demon.
“Was it possible for a mere investigator to kill a Demon Monarch?” he countered.
As the situation unfolded, a suspicion took root. My father might have intended to appoint me as the Huangquan Pavilion Master from the very beginning.
“Didn't you say you wanted to properly restore discipline?”
To my ears, his words carried a hidden meaning:
I’m handing you a blade. Go wild.
To put it more bluntly: Go be my shield and take the hits for me.
There were likely many things preventing my father from stepping forward personally. But the youngest son of the Heavenly Demon acting out and running amok? That was a different story.
Are you trying to use me to handle the tasks you’ve been putting off? Regardless of whether I live or die?
I couldn't tell if this was a display of cold-hearted fatherly love or a calculated move to groom me as his successor. Fine, I told myself. Let’s not get emotional.
What my father had told me before was right.
— A person’s heart is the one thing you can never truly know.
I shouldn't try to read his mind; I just needed to judge based on what I saw and heard. I would react to the situation as it unfolded, rather than trying to decipher his hidden intentions.
My father had always been this kind of man. He was someone who would carve a message on a wall for his child, but also someone who would throw that same child into a den of lions if they proved useful.
In fact, it was easier this way. I would do what he wanted and extract what I needed in return.
“If you’re sending me out to slaughter an ox, you should at least put a knife in my hand.”
“Is there something you want?”
The name of a place I had sworn to visit after my regression slipped from my lips.
“Grant me entry into the Heavenly Demon Library.”
The Heavenly Demon Library was a repository for the most precious Murim manuals in existence, accessible only to the Heavenly Demon and a select few granted explicit permission.
“The Heavenly Demon Library? Why there?”
A look of genuine bewilderment crossed my father’s face.
“If you think you can master some peerless divine art just by entering that place, you are sorely mistaken. You’ll run out of time just reading the titles of the manuals.”
There were simply too many books. Even if I were lucky enough to find a top-tier martial art, it would likely be on par with the Flying Heaven Sword Technique I had already mastered.
My father’s gaze held both suspicion and a hint of reprimand, as if saying, ‘There’s no way you don’t know that.’
“I wish to test my luck.”
He was probably curious—wondering what underhanded scheme I was hatching this time. After staring at me for a long moment, he made his decision.
“I don’t know what devious plot you’re cooking up, but...”
Only after adding that unnecessary remark did he give his consent.
“I grant you access to the Heavenly Demon Library for seven days.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Seven days. For someone who wasn't yet the official successor, this was an unprecedented amount of time. It was a testament to how vital the task of managing the Huangquan Pavilion truly was.
“Tell the Cult’s discipline to wait exactly seven days!”
*
Lee An was incredibly excited when she heard I was going into the Heavenly Demon Library.
“Young Master, once you’re inside, you must focus on memorizing a single martial art. If you get greedy, you’ll end up with nothing. Oh, and make sure you eat! If you skip meals to save time, your memory will suffer, and it’ll be a waste in the end. Also, it’s so vast that you might get lost, so...”
Watching Lee An chatter away without pause, I reflected on my past once more.
In my memories, Lee An had been a very taciturn person. Yet here she was, a total chatterbox.
I suppose that’s how I was back then. I must have spent all my time staring at the roof of the Heavenly Demon Hall, consumed by the desire to become the successor, while the people who would actually help me achieve my dreams were standing right in front of me.
That must be why she became so quiet. I was the one who turned this talkative, cheerful woman into a person of few words.
“Are you listening to me?”
“I’m listening. Focus on one thing, and make sure to eat.”
“And get plenty of sleep. I’ll be praying for a good result. Don’t forget, being allowed into the library without being the successor is a heaven-sent opportunity.”
“Ugh, my ears are going to bleed. Wait, they might be bleeding already.”
“Oh! I’m sorry. I’ll speak less from now on.”
“No, don’t. A depressed personal bodyguard is even scarier.”
“Then please keep my words in mind. Oh, and another thing to consider when looking for a manual is...”
“Please!”
In truth, Lee An didn't need to worry. I knew exactly where to go in that vast library.
To explain why I wanted to enter the Heavenly Demon Library, I have to go back to the time I was searching for the Secret Demon Soul, the final ingredient for the Great Regression Art.
I had returned to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult after it had sealed its gates to find the Secret Demon Soul. I had scarred my face deeply so that no one would recognize me. I was a man already presumed dead; decades had passed since I left the Cult, and with my face ruined, no one knew who I was.
I rose from a common warrior to a position where I could have a private audience with the new Cult Leader, relying solely on my own strength. It took a very long time.
In that final year, when I finally obtained the Secret Demon Soul, I heard a story about a certain martial art.
The Wind God Four Steps.
The person who had obtained the Wind God Four Steps was Ju Baek-do, the Cult Leader of the sealed Demonic Cult at the time. In the decades since the gates were sealed, the leadership had changed six times, so you can imagine how chaotic the Main Cult must have been.
I remember clearly what he told me during a drinking session.
“...I was able to ascend to the position of Cult Leader because I found the lost Wind God Four Steps.”
The Wind God Four Steps. A footwork technique consisting of only four forms, yet arguably the greatest of its kind.
It was said to have once complemented the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon, but it had been lost at some point and was no longer passed down. But Ju Baek-do had found it.
“...Because the previous Cult Leader and his kin met with a sudden disaster, the Nine Calamities Demonic Art—the Heavenly Demon’s signature technique—was lost. The only saving grace was that only the Heavenly Demon Hall was wiped out, allowing the Cult to seal its gates while preserving its overall strength. Since then, the Cult has been in constant turmoil over the succession. If I hadn't found the Wind God Four Steps, the Cult would have continued to spiral until it collapsed from internal strife.”
The fact that he could become the Cult Leader simply by adding this footwork to his own martial arts proved just how extraordinary the Wind God Four Steps was.
“Where did you find it?” I had asked.
“In the Heavenly Demon Library. At the time, I was in charge of managing the library.”
“If the manual was there, why was it believed to be lost?”
“Because it wasn't sitting on a shelf.”
“...!”
If I hadn't been drinking with him that day, if he hadn't been in a good mood, if he hadn't been boasting about his exploits in his cups, I would never have known where the Wind God Four Steps was hidden.
The Heavenly Demon Library was the largest archive I had ever seen. Ninety-nine massive bookshelves filled the space, packed with all kinds of martial arts manuals. Scattered throughout were peerless techniques that would make any martial artist’s heart race—manuals the Cult had collected over centuries.
I walked slowly between the shelves, savoring the scent of old paper. Endless rows of shelves, crammed with manuals... it felt like seven days wouldn't be enough just to read the titles.
Of course, I didn't need to search for a needle in a haystack.
“Here it is.”
I stopped in front of the nineteenth bookshelf.
This section held manuals on Sound Arts. I wasn't planning on spending my new life as a musician, of course. I looked not at the books on the shelves, but at the bottom of the unit itself. A single book was wedged under one corner to level the shelf, which had sagged under the weight of the volumes above.
Using my internal energy, I slightly lifted the bookshelf and pulled out the book acting as a shim. Four characters were written on the cover of the worn manual that finally saw the light of day.
風神四步 (Wind God Four Steps).
“It really was here!”
I was overjoyed, nearly jumping for joy. I recalled my past conversation with Ju Baek-do again.
“Because it wasn't sitting on a shelf.”
“Then where was it?”
“That precious manual was being used as a wedge for the nineteenth bookshelf.”
He said he had discovered it because of his obsessive-compulsive nature. He was the type who had to lay his chopsticks perfectly straight and fold his clothes with mathematical precision. He said he couldn't even eat if a water cup was placed too close to the edge of a table, fearing it might fall.
In the Heavenly Demon Library, he had noticed the wedge under the bookshelf was crooked and, while trying to straighten it, discovered what it was.
I don't know why this precious manual ended up as a bookshelf wedge. Even Ju Baek-do didn't know. I assumed there was some hidden story behind it. Some event must have occurred that required the world’s greatest footwork technique to be hidden in such a way. It could have been part of a succession struggle, the result of a past Heavenly Demon’s misguided love, or perhaps someone’s twisted ambition.
Regardless, thanks to that, I now held the Wind God Four Steps. I carefully opened the first page of the manual. Before the actual formulas began, a single line written with supreme confidence made my heart swell.
— Four steps are enough to walk across the heavens.
Yes, this is it! A martial art vying for the title of the world’s best should have at least this much arrogance.
The Wind God Four Steps consisted of four major forms:
The first step, the Dark Shadow Step, was a footwork technique for infiltration. At first, it was only enough to evade the eyes of one person, but as one’s mastery grew, so did the number of people one could bypass. It was explained that at the stage of Great Achievement, one could vanish in an instant even while being watched by dozens.
The second step, the Blink Step, was a defensive footwork technique—an evasion method that would always find a path to survival when faced with an unavoidable attack.
The third step, the Underworld King Step, was a technique for closing in on an opponent. It was described as being able to neutralize any defense or evasion. It was as if the Underworld King Step was saying: I will open the path to hell; you just have to take the head.
Consequently, the Underworld King Step and the Blink Step were contradictory. One was a footwork that always evaded, and the other was a footwork that always closed in. If the two forms clashed, it would come down to the caliber of the martial artists—whether the spear would break or the shield would be pierced.
The final step, the Rapid Speed Step, was a lightness skill that showed the absolute limit of speed. As one’s mastery of the Rapid Speed Step increased, the Central Plains would feel smaller and smaller. I was certain that at the stage of Great Achievement, it would allow for movement that transcended human limits.
In the end, the Wind God Four Steps was saying this: Infiltrate, evade, attack, and run. When facing an opponent, aren't these four perfect steps enough?
I sat in a corner of the Heavenly Demon Library and quietly began to memorize the formulas.
I followed Lee An’s advice faithfully. I ate the beef jerky I had brought for every meal and slept soundly when it was time to rest. In exchange, I spent every other waking moment focusing on the Wind God Four Steps with a clear mind.
The depth of the formulas was as deep as the sea, and the meaning within was as vast as the sky. It was a martial art designed to be adapted and modified based on the situation, using a single brilliant form as a foundation. Because of this, it was much harder to understand than a technique composed of dozens of rigid, interlocking forms. It was a depth I could never have grasped without the experience of my life before regression.
Perhaps that was why it felt different every time I read it—the first time, the second time, and the tenth time. I lost track of time as I immersed myself in the formulas.
Seven days after entering the library, I had perfectly memorized the formulas of the Wind God Four Steps and was able to perform them. Of course, I was only at the first stage of mastery; I just had to continue training to reach higher realms.
I tore out the most critical parts of the manual, swallowed them, and placed the rest back under the bookshelf. The Wind God Four Steps returned to its role as a bookshelf wedge, its status as the world’s greatest footwork hidden once more.
I didn't want some other lucky person to come along and learn the Wind God Four Steps. I chose to be honest with my own greed.
And then, I took my first step out of the Heavenly Demon Library.