The Heavenly Demon Copies Martial Arts - Chapter 8
My body felt as if it were floating.
I couldn’t tell if I was dead or alive. Beyond the veil of unconsciousness, some chaotic commotion raged.
“Moyong Taese-nim!”
Only a vague flicker of light seemed to show me.
Even the burning heat made my body feel scalding.
“If you’re no longer one of your own, then everyone else will be wiped out, you wretched beast! Aren’t you afraid of the heavens?!”
My head felt muddled. I had no idea what was happening. Why was I lying here? I hadn’t…
Yes. I still had to go to work today. I would have to endure this winter too. I’d bought rice ahead of time, gathered firewood, and now that the new shoes had arrived, I’d have to get those as well.
Ah, right. I’d almost forgotten while busy feeding myself, but I was, after all, a martial artist—I still needed to buy oil for sharpening my blade.
Rice, firewood, shoes, oil… I had barely enough money to cover even half of it.
Work had been scarce lately.
Then, suddenly, I thought: When will I ever be able to live without these worries?
“Gam Seoin-nim. Here!”
Someone lifted me up.
My whole body felt as if it were shattering.
“You’re still alive! Hurry and run!”
I had always fought desperately to live, working my hardest. I wanted to ask Mother. Even if I led an ordinary life that no one would notice, I was still trying, weren’t I? Then Mother would nod, smiling like when I was little, and stroke my head.
So… so…
—Blink.
I opened my eyes.
“……”
The world was silent.
The noisy chaos that had filled my ears moments ago was now perfectly still, as if all my illusions had vanished.
A blindingly white ceiling came into view.
“It hurts.”
It felt like every bone in my body was breaking.
With every sip of water, my scorched esophagus flared with pain, the bitter taste cutting through.
—Clatter.
My trembling hand dropped the medicine bowl and couldn’t even grip it properly. My nerves were shredded like worms, twitching in every direction.
“Why is it so painful?”
[Because you died and came back.]
I recognized that voice.
I tried to call out the name in greeting.
“……”
[Host?]
I kept my mouth open like a fool.
I knew that voice’s name. What was it again? I knew it. I definitely knew it.
Memory.
Only after a long pause did I finally recall and address it.
“Mumyeong.”
[……]
Memories slowly surfaced, one by one. It was like retrieving shards of shattered porcelain from a garbage dump and fitting them back together.
“Ugh…”
I had survived. Twice. Twice I had clawed my way back from the hand of the Red-Masked Assassin, that grim reaper of death.
“…What state is my body in right now?”
[You paid the price.]
“The price?”
Mumyeong spoke out of nowhere.
[You mean madness?]
“How could I not know? Suddenly what kind of nonsense….”
I stopped mid-sentence.
Though we hadn’t known each other long, there was one certainty I could hold: this being never spoke without reason.
My chest went cold.
[The Heavenly Demon’s authority for copying martial arts instantly translates all the hard-earned learning and experience of flowing qi through the veins, maintaining the dantian, connecting muscles, coordinating every part—knowledge it would take a lifetime of senses to master—directly into your mind. It’s like opening your mouth to swallow every waterfall that falls.]
“……”
[If you overuse the authority, your brain will collapse. Remember that.]
So that was it. I had forgotten something. Some memory from my childhood. It felt like the scent of burning leaves, the memory of laughing and playing happily. But the scent lingered only on the edge of my mind, and I could never grasp what it was.
“……”
That fact brought a fear deeper than any curse I had ever heard, deeper even than assassination threats, in my entire life.
I couldn’t remember. I was losing myself.
Simply knowing that fact gave me a chill colder than death.
“My lifespan… is it still okay?”
[What do you mean?]
[“I did that insane thing—using true essence instead of internal energy.”]
[I knew you were being insane.]
I gritted my teeth.
“There was no other choice. Would I have done it if I wanted to?”
[I agree.]
I had brought the Red-Masked Assassin’s martial art, but I had no internal energy to wield it. So I had no choice but to burn the true essence every human possesses as fuel and force the technique to operate, however crudely.
Not a little. It was as if I had scooped dry firewood straight into flames. Half my lifespan could have burned away. That would not have been an exaggeration.
[Your lifespan barely decreased. Your internal energy increased slightly as well. After all, it’s an inferior pill. Even if it’s only a pinch, it’s something.]
I stared blankly for a long time.
Whoosh.
A fly crossed the ceiling.
One lap, two laps, three laps.
The fly that circled the entire ceiling brushed past my nose and—
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
[What nonsense?]
My rage boiled over.
“That’s not the important part, so—”
[….]
I only learned the explanation much later.
“That idiot fed me the Gugo Gold Pill?”
[Yes.]
I blinked.
“Why? Is he crazy? Logically, that doesn’t make sense…”
[I don’t know why. The result is that because you ingested the Gugo Gold Pill, which tends to nourish innate true essence rather than increase internal energy, your lifespan barely decreased even though your internal energy did increase slightly.]
Even after the explanation, I was still stunned.
Prescription and medicine have limits.
“This isn’t like a cat playing with a mouse.”
I wondered if the man had kept me alive only to later cut off my limbs while I was still fully conscious.
[Host, let me give you one piece of advice.]
[“Go ahead.”]
[I believe there is no such thing as giving without reason. Certainly not.]
Even though the words were the same, Mumyeong’s cold, emotionless tone made me feel them deeply.
“Then.”
I should have asked this first. But the fear of hearing the undesired news kept me silent.
“Is Moyong Taese-nim’s condition known?”
[I don’t know. No reason to know either.]
Mumyeong answered without hesitation.
“…You always speak without a drop of blood or tears, even when I least expect it.”
[As long as you don’t die, who else dies doesn’t matter to me. I only care about my own survival.]
Crack.
Teeth ground together.
“Then you’ll die for me?”
[Of course. My survival is the most important thing in this world. What answer do you expect from me?]
I stayed silent for a moment.
“I can’t even pretend to be friends with you.”
[That’s none of my concern.]
My heart turned murky, like ink soaking into white paper.
[Someone is approaching. Be wary.]
Mumyeong’s senses that had once spotted the assassins from dozens of miles away had clearly transcended human limits.
[Host.]
[“I know.”]
I pulled the blanket over myself and lay back down.
“You’re awake.”
The visitor was Gam Seoin, the head of the Medicine King Hall.
I had expected someone from the Moyong Family, so I was genuinely startled.
“Gam Seoin-nim!”
“You have awakened.”
Gam Seoin bowed respectfully as I sat up abruptly, tossing off the blanket.
“Moyong Taese-nim—”
“Fortunately, the dangerous moment has passed. Right now he is focusing on recovery and will not be able to receive you directly.”
My legs gave out and I sat down heavily.
Even I was surprised by how relieved I felt.
Of course, the fact that he had once tried to kill me remained unchanged. But despite that, he was the first family member to acknowledge my existence and call me by name.
Now that he had become so close, his presence carried a weight no stranger could ever have.
“Young Master, I am sorry for disturbing you so soon while your body is still weak.”
The odd feeling I had felt since earlier was in Gam Seoin’s tone.
He no longer addressed me as “young master” in every sentence the way he used to.
“Moyong Taese-nim left a message for me to deliver personally.”
“Moyong Taese-nim?”
Before I could finish speaking, he dropped to one knee. I shot up in alarm.
“You must leave immediately. There is no time to waste.”
“No time? What do you mean?”
Gam Seoin seemed uneasy.
“By now the client who sent the assassins should already have received word that the attempt failed.”
His words carried full weight.
Noticing my frozen expression, Gam Seoin nodded.
“I don’t know what changed in the assassin’s heart, but since he failed, the second plan will be executed at once. This is the last chance. If you cannot seize this opportunity and attach yourself to Cheonsubaekryeonsa, then you will be in grave danger.”
His blunt words sent a chill through my chest.
Gam Seoin held up two fingers.
“Of the three young masters of the Moyong Family, excluding the second, famous for his womanizing, the first and third are absolutely not to be underestimated. They are more cunning than foxes and bolder than tigers.”
I looked at him. Gam Seoin swallowed hard.
“If it is those two that I know, they would rush to crush you while you are still a tender sprout before you harden.”
“……”
“Would you like to avoid them? But they will never leave you alone. In the end, the two of you are destined to face each other on a single plank of wood.”
It was a reality I could never ignore, no matter how much I wanted to.
“Moyong Taese-nim was also worried about that. Of course Cheonsubaekryeonsa is not completely safe either. Any place run by humans will have holes, and in the current Murim there is not a single untainted group left. Still, if you become a disciple of Cheonsubaekryeonsa, then compared to being an unattached wanderer with no one caring if you die, it will be a hundred times better.”
Even objectively, Gam Seoin’s words were correct.
Right now my greatest weakness was having no formal affiliation in the Murim.
There was a famous saying in the Murim: One sword cannot defeat revenge. Not even a street mutt could survive without its protector and its own power base.
I possessed neither outstanding martial skills nor a protector who would take revenge for me or shield me from assassination threats.
Nor would it make sense to suddenly claim I was Moyong Family’s legitimate fourth son and demand formal entry.
Therefore, the fastest and most stable identity I could take in the Murim right now was that of a disciple at Cheonsubaekryeonsa.
“Bring them.”
At Gam Seoin’s gesture, the maids entered carrying a bundle and provisions.
“These are the supplies you will need along with food for your journey.”
I could tell he was in a hurry.
No matter what, Gam Seoin was trying to protect me.
“Understood. I will leave at once. Gam Seoin-nim.”
“And—”
Gam Seoin continued.
“There is another message I must deliver.”
[“What is it?”]
Gam Seoin straightened his posture with solemn respect.
I looked at him. His eyes were resolute.
“Witnessing this incident—where even those of the same clan hesitated no longer before drawing a sword—I have also made my decision. They are unworthy of being the candidates for head of the Moyong Family.”
“What?”
His tone was calm, but his eyes burned quietly with anger over the event.
“I will stand at the forefront in officially recognizing and supporting the existence of the fourth young master when the day comes that Moyong Taese-nim completes his training here as a disciple and departs, and the Moyong Family formally acknowledges him.”
“What?”
“However, for our group to act this way, there is a prerequisite.”
Gam Seoin spoke in a low, steady voice.
“It is, in a way, gambling. But Moyong Taese-nim said the young master possesses potential in the Central Plains that is hard to find even there.”
“Gambling, you say?”
Gam Seoin met my gaze.
“To put it bluntly, the young master has no reputation or support base as a legitimate son. If the young master has no ambition for the head position and wants only to survive, then he must prove himself worthy of our true help by earning some publicly recognized fame.”
“…Publicly recognized fame? You mean something like verification?”
“Cheonsubaekryeonsa is not merely an educational institution for training orthodox disciples. It is closer to an institution that officially ranks and certifies the level of martial artists in the Murim. In the four seasonal halls—Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter—six years of training and passing certain tests allow promotion to higher halls. The name of the training hall where a disciple resides after completing six years of study becomes their lifelong identity.”
“……”
“Moyong Taese-nim said the young master would undoubtedly pass every hall of Cheonsubaekryeonsa—something not even one of the Five Great Families has ever done—and return triumphantly. I swear it. If—if you succeed and come out.”
Gam Seoin looked straight at me and said,
“On the day you depart Cheonsubaekryeonsa, the way the Murim looks at the young master who is a legitimate son will be completely different from now.”