The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts Chapter 284
The banquet was filled with a rich, crimson aura.
Female attendants dressed in attire that shimmered with a pinkish hue moved gracefully between guests, pouring wine and letting out bright, tinkling laughter.
Men with rugged beards were entangled with these women, drinking and reveling in rowdy abandon.
—Slurp… slurp…
On one side of the banquet hall, a man with a face swollen and bruised, his mouth gagged and bound, sat in obvious torment. He struggled to breathe, his eyes darting anxiously as he watched the lively feast unfold.
This was the eldest son of the Wi Jise family, kidnapped by Dokgo Cheon.
—Clang.
A piercing sound cut through the night like a falling star tearing across the sky.
—Thud.
Every voice in the hall fell silent at once.
A profound stillness settled over the room.
—Rumble rumble…
Colorful fruits rolled across the red carpet in a dazzling display.
Splinters of pristine white porcelain scattered everywhere.
The female attendants who had been playing lively instruments suddenly froze, their mouths opening in silent screams as they clamped their hands over them.
“What did you just say?”
Dokgo Cheon, with his fiery red hair, lifted his head from the woman’s lap. His narrow eyes burned with manic light.
“What did you just say?”
The subordinate he had summoned knelt on one knee, sweat pouring down his face.
Dokgo Cheon let out a short, cold sigh and slammed his foot down, storming toward the raised platform. Along the way he snatched up a wine bottle from the side table.
“You won’t speak?”
—Smash!
Dokgo Cheon brought the bottle down with all his strength, smashing it into the subordinate’s skull. The man screamed and clutched his head.
—Drip… drip…
Sultry wine soaked his hair and ran down his face. Moments later, crimson blood mixed in, staining the floor.
“This bastard thinks he’s funny, does he? You were supposed to report—why the hell won’t you talk?”
Dokgo Cheon crouched in front of the trembling subordinate and grabbed a fistful of his hair, yanking his head up.
—Crack.
His palm connected with the cheek, splitting skin and sending blood spraying. The once-lively banquet fell deathly silent.
“You dare? Repeat what you said about the useless report earlier. What? How did Cha Ryu-ja die?”
“D-Dokgo Cheon-nim… p-please… we had no choice…!”
The subordinate broke into sobs.
At those words Dokgo Cheon lost all reason. His hand shot out like a striking snake.
—Tear!
He ripped the subordinate’s outer robe apart, revealing the Moyong Clan crest embroidered on his inner clothing.
“You bastard who’s been playing dress-up as a Moyong Clan warrior has forgotten his own roots. I’ve told you repeatedly: even if we’re only lending you the clothes for a little while because of money, we won’t give up our unorthodox sect pride!”
Dokgo Cheon growled.
“Then what? Before I tear you apart according to unorthodox rules, repeat the nonsense you just spat out.”
The subordinate’s face had gone deathly pale. “Cha… Cha Ryu-ja-nim has passed away. The entire group that went with him to handle the Wi Jise business has… been wiped out—!”
—Crack!
The subordinate screamed and rolled on the floor. Dokgo Cheon grabbed him by the throat and dragged him upright, then began raining blows.
—Crack! Crack! Crack!
Meat splattered. Blood sprayed. The man’s nose twisted, his lips burst. Dokgo Cheon roared.
“Then why the hell are you still alive right here?!”
He hurled the body away.
—Crash!
It tumbled across the table and crashed to the floor. The female attendants shrieked. The remaining subordinates who had been enjoying the feast quickly hid in fear. The fallen man wept.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… it’s… it’s that…”
The subordinate struggled to finish.
“They weren’t human. They were demons… too terrifying… and I still had to report… everyone else is dead… except me…”
“Hah.”
Dokgo Cheon laughed in disbelief. “What a pathetic piece of garbage. You’ve shamed the entire unorthodox way of life. Hahaha. Fine. Now give me that precious report. In detail. How did Cha Ryu-ja…?”
Dokgo Cheon closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
“How did he die? Who was it?”
The subordinate finally straightened up, hope flickering in his blood-and-wine-soaked face. “It was a demon. Definitely a demon… but the strangest part is that the one leading them called himself Moyong Bi.”
“Called himself?”
The subordinate swallowed hard. “He said his name was Moyong Bi… and the other demons referred to him as Moyong Bi-nim as well. Also… I only caught a faint glimpse, but…”
The subordinate glanced nervously at Dokgo Cheon. “He mentioned the very first Heavenly Demon.”
Dokgo Cheon’s expression froze.
“You think you can just blurt out anything and get away with it?”
—Clink!
He pulled a dagger from his sleeve and stepped closer, pressing the blade against the subordinate’s mouth.
The man’s eyes filled with terror.
“U-ugh! D-Dokgo Cheon-nim!”
“You really are a bad-mouthed villain. You’ve been pretending to listen to nonsense, have you? Moyong Bi?”
Dokgo Cheon said coldly.
“The only Moyong Bi I know is the bastard who fled to Cheonsubaekryeonsa in a panic and’s now stuck in Ha-mu-gwan. How could that useless creature suddenly appear up here in the northern region and get worshipped by demons? It’s not even a believable story!”
“But that’s the truth!”
—
Dokgo Cheon closed his eyes. He withdrew the dagger from the subordinate’s mouth, a thin trail of saliva stretching from the blade. Beneath the candlelight, the steel gleamed coldly.
“Then tell me everything you saw about my brother. How did he die? Who was it?”
“His body was completely crushed by that Moyong Bi.”
“Crushed? What about his weapons?”
The subordinate swallowed. “Just… bare-handed martial arts.”
—
“And the final blow was delivered by the demons who called themselves the Nine Killing Stars. They swept through everything and not a single body remained—only ash. This is proof.”
The subordinate pulled out a shattered iron shard from his pocket.
Dokgo Cheon took the piece and examined it. “This is the steel rod my brother treasured… it’s broken into pieces like this?”
“I saw it with my own eyes. No exaggeration, Dokgo Cheon-nim.”
From the side, a cautious scholar in plain robes spoke softly. “What do we do? Even if the odds are one in ten thousand, if that man is truly Moyong Bi, we must report it immediately to our master, the eldest young master. Especially…”
The scholar continued carefully, “There are rumors about the Moyong Clan’s third son—our Moyong Ryu—going around in a frenzy, foaming at the mouth, searching everywhere for the bastard. We mustn’t ignore it.”
“No.”
Dokgo Cheon muttered.
“We still haven’t reported to Moyong Jinryong-nim.”
“What?”
Dokgo Cheon slowly gathered the shattered iron shards in his palm. Blood welled up in his grip and dripped to the floor.
“Fine. Whether that bastard is truly Moyong Bi or not doesn’t matter. My brother… the brother I’ve eaten and lived with since the days of the unorthodox way’s bottom ranks…”
A vein bulged on Dokgo Cheon’s forehead.
“I won’t let you die cleanly.”
That was the signal.
Everyone rose from the banquet table, faces tense with urgency.
Dokgo Cheon looked at the subordinates watching him. “Gather every single person you can reach right now. That bastard is still in the area. We’ll capture him and make him pay exactly like he made my brother pay.”
“Don’t worry, Dokgo Cheon-nim.”
They gripped their sword sheaths, voices full of fierce determination. “We will definitely avenge Cha Ryu-ja-nim.”
“Of course. There is no greater honor than revenge.”
“We may be just stray dogs, but in our territory we have strength. The bastard who thinks he can act tough here will be handled according to our unorthodox rules.”
Dokgo Cheon gritted his teeth until they looked ready to crack.
“That’s right. And don’t forget anyone connected to him—subordinates, family, lovers, anyone with the slightest suspicion. Everyone.”
His words came out one by one, slow and deliberate.
“Whether he’s just some worthless scum who crawled out from nowhere, the cruel reality will teach him a lesson that will shake his very bones.”
The ultimate internal cultivation art of the Baekryeon Demonic Sect. Moyong Bi’s body was reconstructed into the Heavenly Martial Body, allowing perfect mastery of every martial art he copies. The Patcheon-hyeol-ma-mu-geuk-gong converts absorbed energy into pure demonic qi, pushing his cultivation toward the final Demon Descent realm.
Mumyeong observed Moyong Bi’s body with the Patcheon-hyeol-ma-mu-geuk-gong, circulating his demonic energy like a delicate, intricate machine.
Soon he spoke with satisfaction.
[It’s slow, but you’re definitely advancing.]
“Advancing?”
Moyong Bi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
[Remember what I told you? Your body is undergoing a total of three stages of transformation toward the ultimate perfect form of a demon’s body—the goal of the Constellation Pearls.]
It was a story he had heard many times before.
[First is the Peak Demon stage. Second is the Demon Escape stage. The final one is the Demon Descent stage. Your body is going through these three stages to achieve the most perfect demonic body the pearls aim for. Right now you stand on the threshold of completing the Demon Escape stage and entering the Demon Descent stage—the very last stage.]
Mumyeong explained that even in the ancient Heavenly Demon Cult days, when countless demons existed, many had faltered at the Demon Descent stage.
[But since you’ve already chosen the path that was paved for you, you will reach it in the end… still, there’s one thing I find odd.]
“Odd?”
Far to the east, the first light of dawn broke through the horizon. Brilliant golden sunlight poured into the chamber, carrying fresh, crisp air that filled Moyong Bi’s lungs. The cold breath of winter air he exhaled was visible in the chill.
The storm had passed. A single night had transformed the world into a blanket of pure white snow. He took another step forward across the pristine ground.
[With the amount of demonic energy you carry, even with the Patcheon-hyeol-ma-mu-geuk-gong circulating it, you should already have passed the Demon Descent stage. You’re progressing, but I still don’t understand why you’re still stuck at this level.]
—
[There is one hypothesis, however.]
“What is it?”
Mumyeong asked.
[I want you to consider this: Has your body ever truly wanted to fight with all its heart?]
There was no hesitation.
“No. I fought because I had to.”
Mumyeong let out a short sigh.
[…So that’s it. Your body aspires to be a flying divine dragon and a war god, yet your spirit rejects that very aspiration…]
Moyong Bi wrinkled his nose in displeasure. “Enough with the flowery nonsense about the heart and the mind. We’re dealing with the immediate problem right now.”
[Understood. Ah, speaking of which, if Je-gal Sea’s warning… the chance is slim, but if it’s true, what do you plan to do?]
“Warning? Ah, that one.”
—Scuff.
Moyong Bi stopped in his tracks. Beneath the cold winter air, a massive shadow stretched across his face like an enormous, frozen hand.
He looked up—way up. Against the vast, endless blue sky, he gazed at the colossal gate rising before him.
—North Sea Ice Palace Black Dragon Branch
Moyong Bi muttered, staring at the sharp, engraved characters on the gate.
“What kind of insane rumor is this? That the infamous North Sea Ice Palace’s head palace mistress would come all the way to this remote northern branch in the middle of winter?”
—Boom boom.
He gripped the door knocker and knocked hard.
No response.
He knocked again.
Still nothing.
The impact rattled the ancient door, sending tiny flakes of ice tumbling onto his hands. Mumyeong spoke as if he understood.
[Yeah, Je-gal Sea probably laughed and said it was too far-fetched. Maybe I was wrong to worry.]
Still no one answered.
He pushed the massive gate anyway, just in case.
—Squeak…
The huge doors slowly opened.
“Huh? The door’s open?”
He hesitated, then gently pushed it wider, trying to see inside without making noise. He slid it open another inch, then another, until it was half-open.
—Creak… creak…
The enormous gate creaked slowly. It was incredibly heavy, but Moyong Bi’s hardened body power made the task effortless.
Through the opening appeared a vast courtyard bathed in blue light, like a frozen realm where ice and azure light danced together.
Peering through the gap, Moyong Bi said, “No need to worry, Mumyeong. You know that saying—nine-tenths of people’s worries are about things that never actually happen. We don’t have time for that nonsense right now. Let’s keep moving forward—”
A breathtakingly beautiful woman with long, snow-white hair and snow-white eyes blinked and stared straight at him with piercing intensity.
—
He quickly stepped back. He tried to close the door again, but the frozen gate would not budge. He bowed his head and pressed his forehead against the cold wood.
“Damn it.”
[Even the nine-tenths and the one-tenth everything, the whole thing was doomed from the start.]
Mumyeong muttered.
Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts
Written by: WritingShark
Publisher: Son Byeong-tae
Publisher: RS Media Co., Ltd.
Address: Chunui Techno Park 2nd Tower 201-dong, Room 503, 18 Beon-gil, Bucheon-ro, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
Tel: 032-651-8576
E-mail: [email protected]
ISBN: 979-11-6839-291-5
All editing rights for this book are held by RS Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the author. Unauthorized reproduction, modification, or distribution is strictly prohibited.