The Heavenly Demon Divine Art (First Form: White Night)
My body felt light.
It was the very first thing I noticed the moment I opened my eyes.
After the regression, my body had been as heavy as a soaked cotton ball. Now, though not quite like before the regression, it felt noticeably lighter.
How do you feel?
“Light… Not quite like before the regression, but much better than yesterday.”
Beatrice smiled with satisfaction at my words and added that I should prepare myself, for the pain to come would be far greater.
“That’s exactly what I want. As long as I can grow stronger, the pain doesn’t matter at all.”
[Then, starting today, I shall teach you the Heavenly Demon Divine Art in earnest. But this place is too small for that. Let us move to a more suitable location.]
Slap!
Beatrice snapped her fingers, and her mana wrapped around me like a gentle cocoon. My vision twisted violently.
Whoosh!
When my eyes cleared, what I saw was a vast forest.
“Beatrice, you can teleport too?”
[Of course. The Celestial knows no magic she cannot use.]
Thinking about how usually at least two or three people were needed just to cast teleportation, I couldn’t help but marvel at Beatrice’s astonishing skill in performing it alone in an instant.
“But where are we exactly?”
[I do not know either. There are things to collect here, and I wish to train the Heavenly Demon Divine Art here without causing any harm. That is why we came to this spot.]
“How much destruction is there that you’d bring me to a place like this? With your strength, couldn’t you just make yourself transparent and show me around the empty areas nearby?”
[Hmmm… Then I shall demonstrate a simplified version for you.]
Whoosh.
Beatrice’s body swelled rapidly, and she landed on the ground. The scent of the Heavenly Demon filled my nose.
Cheon Seong stared in a daze at the towering form of Beatrice, who had no idea what her disciple was thinking and simply adjusted her posture.
Ssssssswoosh!
Flash!
Black energy erupted from Beatrice and spread outward.
Whoosh!
‘Incredible…’
I had witnessed many martial arts before, but none had ever felt this unbearably scorching in its power. Of course, it could be simply because Beatrice was so strong. Yet to me, it was far more than that.
This martial art was nothing but pure, devastating force itself. Simply by releasing its aura, it overwhelmed the surroundings and filled the observer with terror.
Overwhelmed by Beatrice’s presence, I watched the punch she threw and my legs gave out, causing me to collapse onto the ground.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art
First Form
White Night
Beatrice’s previously pitch-black energy had turned into blinding white light, as if a sun had risen in the dark forest, illuminating everything around her.
Crack—crack—crack—crack—crack!!
Every tree that stood in her path was uprooted and sent flying. Rocks along her trajectory shattered into dust, erasing them from existence.
[How do you feel about seeing my martial art for the first time?]
“…”
No matter what Beatrice asked, Cheon Seong could not find words to answer.
It was overwhelming.
It was a sight that surpassed even high-level magic in raw power. As if a massive barrage of advanced spells had just fallen.
Yet what truly stunned him more than the sight itself was that this was not even Beatrice’s full power.
“Beatrice… did you hold back at the end?”
[Did you notice? If I had given it everything here, the things I came to collect would have been destroyed. I had no choice but to restrain it.]
The reduced power was enough to casually swallow even high-level magic…
“Can I… do this?”
[Of course. To me, your talent stands out above all else.]
“…”
“Thank you for saying that.”
[Before I teach you the rest of my martial art, I must first explain how to handle the ki, the most important element.]
“Ki? Is that black energy the ki?”
[Precisely. Ki is essential energy for wielding the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.]
Beatrice explained to me how to use the ki needed before teaching the martial art, and later how to convert mana into ki.
[Ki is a form of energy converted from mana. To handle it properly, the measures I instructed yesterday are absolutely necessary.]
Beatrice told me that ki was a power that repelled anything and could not harmonize with any other force, then explained how to convert mana into ki.
Converting mana into ki turned out to be surprisingly easy.
I could manipulate all five elemental attributes of mana with my innate Five Colors ability, so I was already familiar with changing their properties. Converting mana to ki was nearly identical to that process.
As I circulated the ki through my body, the remaining mana in the air became vividly alive against my skin, and I could distinctly feel it being repelled outward.
Flash!
Concentrating my aura in my hands, black energy erupted into existence. Looking at it, I asked Beatrice.
“Is this correct?”
[…Correct. Impressive. I feared you might fail to convert the mana.]
“…”
“What if I fail?”
[It’s nothing serious. Just that all your meridians will rupture and you’ll have to recover for a month. Nothing you can’t heal.]
“You should have warned me sooner!! That’s not something you can just shrug off!!”
Meridians bursting meant becoming unable to use mana at all. What did she mean there was no need to worry? And even if they could be healed in a month, who had ever healed such broken meridians before?
I stared at Beatrice in utter shock, but she was already ready to continue.
[Then, from now on, I shall teach you the first form of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.]
“Wait, Beatrice. Hold on a moment. I want to try something.”
[Hmm? Very well.]
I rose from the ground and copied the first stance Beatrice had shown me.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art
First Form
White Night
Whoosh———Flash!
A blinding white light gathered and exploded. The fist, though perhaps not as powerful as Beatrice’s, was still powerful enough to be taken seriously.
“Haa… haa… haa… How was that?”
Having drained all strength from my body in a single punch, I collapsed to the ground and asked Beatrice. She answered in surprise.
[Truly impressive. You imitated White Night on your very first attempt.]
“It… seemed like I could do it.”
Seeing Beatrice’s stunned expression, I felt a surge of pride and tried to stand. But the first White Night had proven too much; my legs weakened again and I nearly fell.
Thud.
[Sit and rest. I still have things to collect, and you must have been exhausted from using White Night for the first time.]
“…”
“Understood.”
Indeed, even though I had pushed my body to the limit, my strength did not flow smoothly. So I sat and rested as Beatrice instructed, waiting for her return.
Beatrice had vanished through teleportation and reappeared moments later, handing me a small bottle.
[Drink this. It will help restore your stamina.]
“Ah… thank you.”
The bottle was barely half the size of two fingers, so I hadn’t expected it to be much help. But since it was from Beatrice, I accepted it with joy and drank it down.
Gulp.
“It tastes good. It’s refreshing and bubbly, like a soda. What is this?”
[It is nothing special. It is Clear Sky Milk. For someone whose mana reserves are lacking, it is the perfect healing elixir.]
“Ah~ I see. Clear Sky Milk… wait, what!? Clear Sky Milk!? You should have told me sooner!!”
At the legendary name of Clear Sky Milk, I was startled and immediately assumed a lotus position, beginning inner breath circulation. Beatrice reassured me with a smile.
[You have nothing to worry about regarding the absorption of the elixir. Your body has already transformed to be similar to a Celestial’s, so the natural elixir will be absorbed completely and without waste as soon as it enters your system.]
“R-really? Now that you mention it, there’s no waste flowing out… Is that even possible?”
[It is possible. A Celestial’s body is nearly perfect.]
Elixirs are normally absorbed through inner breath circulation upon entering the body.
The amount absorbed depends on the person’s strength. With a weak constitution, even the best elixir yields little benefit. It also requires time to absorb, so it is usually paired with a condition that it be a natural-world elixir. But absorbing an entire elixir in a single, unconditioned swallow was impossible for any normal body.
Of course, even a single drop of Clear Sky Milk would increase mana tremendously. After swallowing the half-bottle amount in one go, my mana had swelled dramatically and I felt some pain. But compared to yesterday’s agony, it was nothing.
“Thank you, Beatrice.”
[It is nothing.]
Thanks to Beatrice, I had recovered roughly half the mana I had before the regression. Thanks to the purifying effect of Clear Sky Milk, my mana was purer than it had been before the regression, and its power was far greater than before.
[Then let me teach you the remaining forms. After we finish, there will be a sparring match. Prepare yourself.]
Cheon Seong grinned.
“Sparring with the strong is always welcome.”
So it continued for a while, the forest filled with the sounds of destruction and shattering.
