Chapter 206: Demonic Arts (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206: Demonic Arts (1)
The Palace Lord stared, utterly stunned by the scene before him.
The Sword Phoenix, who should have been long dead, was sitting comfortably in the room. And there, nestled in her lap, was His Heaven.
…What is this?
His eyes widened in disbelief. This was an impossibility—something that should never have happened.
His plan could not be allowed to derail now. For years, he had striven to perfect His Heaven. Now, closer to his goal than ever, failure was not an option.
His Heaven needed to be perfect. His Heaven needed to be an existence so absolute it could look down upon all others.
An absolute existence.
But… what am I seeing?
To witness His Heaven—an entity so superior it was blasphemous to even compare it to a mere human—behaving like an ordinary child, calmly reading a book in a woman’s arms… it was inconceivable.
I must eliminate her.
Black fog began to seep from his body, coalescing into a sharp, needle-like awl aimed directly at Gu Huibi’s head. Defenseless and devoid of Qi, she would die instantly if struck.
The Palace Lord prepared to strike.
“…!”
But his Qi suddenly crumbled—not by his own will, but because it recognized its true master.
From across the room, he felt His Heaven’s gaze upon him. Immediately, he bowed his head.
Step. Step.
Soft footsteps drew nearer. Keeping his head low, he saw a small, pale foot enter his field of vision.
“Don’t.”
The voice was soft, childlike—words he had not heard in decades.
The Palace Lord suppressed his emotions. This was unprecedented. He did not know what consequences might follow if he spoke out of turn.
One misstep, and it could all be over.
The very power sustaining his life could vanish in an instant. His existence hung in the balance.
He understood better than anyone the immense power contained within His Heaven’s small form. He alone truly knew.
“…I apologize.”
After a moment of silence, His Heaven responded.
“Book.”
The reply was familiar, yet the Palace Lord sensed a subtle shift.
“…I will prepare it immediately.”
His Heaven nodded and turned back toward Gu Huibi.
“Oh Heaven.”
The Palace Lord stopped him.
“…?”
“Are you… satisfied with what I prepared?”
He was referring to Gu Huibi. From the intelligence gathered and his own observations, the Palace Lord was certain: Gu Huibi possessed the most complete ‘flame’ he had ever encountered.
It was not the flame of the Tiger Warrior—once known as the Flaming Demon, Gu Cheolun. Nor was it the flame of the True Dragon, destined to become the Young Lord.
Hers was the purest, most perfect flame.
I was not wrong.
Many clans practiced Flame Arts, and even some demons wielded fire. But among all the flames in the world, Gu Huibi’s was unique. According to the ancient text possessed by His Heaven—a book he had never intended to read, but had—hers was precisely the flame His Heaven needed most.
And His Heaven was more than capable of consuming such power.
Is My Heaven reluctant to absorb her?
That seemed unlikely. Until now, His Heaven had absorbed every energy offered, seemingly relishing each one. Reluctance was not the issue.
Regardless, I must ensure My Heaven accepts her.
To achieve that, he needed her flame. It was essential for harmonizing all the Qi. And according to the ancient text, the time was now.
For an entire year, the Palace Lord had refrained from offering His Heaven any special Qi, all in preparation for this moment.
But why…!
He could not understand. Why wasn’t His Heaven absorbing Gu Huibi’s Qi? The ability to absorb and make others’ power his own was His Heaven’s greatest authority.
His Heaven tilted his head, as if not understanding the question. His violet eyes, brighter than usual, remained fixed on Gu Huibi. After a moment, they widened slightly, as if grasping the Palace Lord’s meaning.
“I can’t. Eat more.”
Heaven seemed to struggle for words, falling silent afterward.
The Palace Lord’s head jerked up from its bowed position. Such a thing should never have happened.
“…What do you mean?”
“Now, I can’t ea…”
Heaven began, then stopped, his lips forming silent words as if he could not be bothered to continue.
The Palace Lord reeled from the shock. He had to decipher the meaning.
Can’t eat anymore?
His Heaven was incapable of lying. He would simply ignore rather than speak falsehoods. So what did this mean? That His Heaven could no consume others’ power?
But why now?
The last time His Heaven had consumed another’s Qi was exactly a year ago. The Palace Lord remembered it clearly—His Heaven had absorbed the entirety of another’s power. And that other was none other than Hyuk Uhchoon, the Warlord of Dual Blades, one of the Four Emperors and Five Kings.
Though Hyuk Uhchoon was weaker than his peers, compared to a mere prodigy like Gu Huibi, the difference was like heaven and earth. If His Heaven could easily absorb someone of that caliber, how could he fail to absorb Gu Huibi’s meager power? It was impossible!
Has something happened? A problem?
What could have occurred in the span of a single year?
Crack.
The Palace Lord gritted his teeth silently. A new complication had arisen at this critical juncture. A crack had formed in his decades of meticulous planning, and from it seeped a slow, creeping unease.
This is not ideal.
He was far from pleased. The palace he had painstakingly built over decades now bore a hairline fracture he could not ignore.
Without another word, the Palace Lord slowly stood.
“I will take my leave.”
His Heaven showed no reaction. With a gesture, the Palace Lord lifted Gu Huibi into the air, pulling her toward him.
“Ugh…!”
Gu Huibi grunted as she floated forward. Just as she was about to be pulled away, His Heaven’s hand shot out and grasped her.
“Where?”
He tilted his head, asking Gu Huibi, but she was in no state to answer. Suppressed by the Palace Lord’s overwhelming aura, she could barely breathe, let alone speak. She was even more shocked by the child’s casual defiance.
…I knew he was no ordinary child.
The unique aura he emitted alone was proof enough. He held her effortlessly, completely unaffected by the Palace Lord’s pulling force. It was as if he didn’t even feel it.
But if this stalemate continued, she would be the one to suffer. Summoning all her strength under the crushing pressure, Gu Huibi managed to speak.
“Let’s… see each other next time.”
The sentence was vague, but even those few words were a struggle. Without Inner Qi, her body was frail.
Thankfully, it worked. The child released his grip, and Gu Huibi floated to the Palace Lord’s side. Bowing respectfully to His Heaven, the Palace Lord closed the door and left.
Slam!
The sound echoed through the room as the door shut.
Left alone, the child stared at the closed door and mumbled to himself.
“Next time?”
He pondered Gu Huibi’s words, trying to grasp their meaning, but could not understand. Closing his eyes, he extinguished the violet flame in his hand and slowly receded back into the darkness. Only then did he feel comfortable again.
* * *
Slam!
“Ugh!”
Gu Huibi was thrown onto the wide floor of her cell, tumbling several times before coming to a stop. She was back in the jail she had called home for the past few days.
Struggling to her feet after the rough landing, she spoke, her voice laced with sarcasm. “Your hospitality leaves something to be desired. Did things not go as you wanted?”
Her arm throbbed; the impact might have sprained it.
The Palace Lord frowned. “What I wanted?”
“You brought me here to look after the child, didn’t you? I assumed I was here to be his playmate.”
His frown deepened. Watching his reaction, Gu Huibi grew certain.
It didn’t go according to his plan.
She had initially thought the child was the Palace Lord’s son, but the Lord’s demeanor suggested otherwise. Their relationship was clearly something different.
But more than that…
What is that child?
She was deeply curious. The Palace Lord had brought her here for the child’s sake, that much was clear. But since his plan had failed, she was left with more questions than answers.
She recalled the child’s eyes, which held a peculiar aura. They bore a striking resemblance to someone she knew—not just in appearance, but in energy. Could it really be a coincidence?
The Palace Lord continued to stare at her in silence.
“Why are you staring?” she asked, but he did not respond.
Instead, he slowly raised his hand. Just as Gu Huibi sensed his intent…
Slam!
A sound echoed from somewhere deep within the palace, and dust drifted down from the ceiling. Though Gu Huibi felt nothing, the building seemed to have shaken slightly.
“Hmm.”
The Palace Lord lowered his hand, frowning as if sensing something she, without her Qi, could not. He turned and walked toward the entrance, leaving her behind in the cell.
As Elder Mook snored in the background, Gu Huibi became certain of one thing: if not for that distant sound, she would be dead by now.
* * *
The Palace Lord emerged on the first floor, seeking the source of the noise and the Qi he had felt moments earlier. His senses were partially obscured by the formations surrounding the palace, but he was sure—it was Fire Qi. And it felt hauntingly familiar.
A stinging sensation in his stomach reminded him of an old scar left by that very same Fire Qi.
“I greet the Palace Lord…!” Many bowed as he appeared, but his gaze was fixed on the wall.
“What happened?”
“…Well.”
A section of the wall was terribly damaged, as if a giant demon had charged through it. The remnants of flame clinging to the rubble pointed to one culprit: the Flaming Demon, Gu Cheolun. Only a Fusion Realm martial artist of his caliber could leave such a mark on the Black Palace.
The unique aura confirmed it.
“He is here.”
It seemed the old tiger, worn by time, still cared for his kin.
The Palace Lord sent out a wave of energy, extinguishing the lingering flames. A question nagged at him: How did he find this place?
Even if he had located the palace, breaking through the barrier of formations without the use of Inner Qi should have been impossible. How?
The formations, crafted by the Giant Oni, were not to be underestimated. The palace was not only hidden but also incredibly durable—even the Palace Lord could not easily breach it with martial power alone. Not even a successor of the fallen Zhuge Clan, renowned for their mastery of formations, could have accomplished this so effortlessly.
“Great Oni.”
“Yes, Lord…!”
“Was the barrier breached?”
“N-No, my Lord! I checked it moments ago. It remains perfectly intact.”
Then what was happening? The Palace Lord stared at the damaged wall, holding his breath.
Whatever the case, one thing was certain: the Tiger of the Gu Clan was now inside the palace.
Black fog billowed from the Palace Lord’s shoulders. His eyes, which had been closed, snapped open, shining with a violet light.
“Find him. He is here somewhere.”
As soon as the order was given, countless members of the palace vanished to carry out his command.
The Palace Lord did not know why the Flaming Demon had chosen this path, but as the ‘Flaming Demon,’ there had to be a reason. Whatever it was, it mattered little.
I will ask him when we meet.
The black fog spread further, seeping through the corridors.
And from a distance, hidden within the shadows of the forest, two figures watched.
Gu Yangcheon and Namgung Bi-ah observed the Palace Lord, their presence carefully concealed. They had not been detected, but the mysterious Qi emanating from the Lord’s body made Namgung Bi-ah break into a cold sweat.
Even from afar, the sensation was chilling.
…Is that… martial arts?
It felt inadequate to call such a thing mere martial arts. She was astounded that such power could exist in the world.
As she calmed her racing heart, she glanced at Gu Yangcheon, who wore a similarly shocked expression—though for a different reason.
The personalized martial art manifesting as a black fog that seemed to swallow everything around it… The vile sensation that made his very body yearn for it… Gu Yangcheon recognized it instantly.
How could he not?
Demonic Arts…?
It was the power bestowed by the Heavenly Demon.
Demonic Arts.