I Am the Strongest Under Heaven
"I am the strongest under heaven."
The Heavenly Demon Sect, through some unknown means, had long been aware of the existence of cultivators. They had steeled themselves to stand on equal footing with those lofty beings. Even without spiritual roots, they sought to cave in the skulls of those who looked down upon them from beyond the clouds. Thus, the martial arts passed down through generations of elders were inherited alongside their titles.
The very essence of martial arts accumulated over the thousand-year history of the Heavenly Demon Sect bared its fangs at So-wol. If there was one unfortunate detail, however, it was So-wol's unique nature.
"Thank you for your hard work," So-wol said politely.
"...Dammit. If you even learn the martial arts we kept monopolized, how is our Sect supposed to survive?"
"There probably aren't any other monsters who have mastered martial arts besides me."
"We drew a terrible lot. It's checkmate. Absolute checkmate."
Squelch.
The sound of a skull being crushed. Rather than trying to wipe away the lingering sensation of shattering bone in her hands, So-wol closed her eyes and savored the feeling.
"It's still not enough..."
So-wol was undoubtedly strong, but more than that, the matchup was terrible for her opponents. The Heavenly Demon Sect had researched tactics to catch cultivators off guard using martial arts unfamiliar to them. Yet, how could this be happening? All the martial knowledge they had accumulated to gain an upper hand against cultivators was being thoroughly dismantled.
"This purple lightning... does it have a piercing or permeating property? If you raise its output to the maximum, it seems you could directly strike a cultivator inside their defensive barrier."
"You're disgustingly durable, you monster bitch."
"However, to work against a monster whose body is naturally sturdy from birth, the output needs to be much higher. This would only be effective against fragile humans, and even then, only those at the late stage of Core Condensation."
"Then I'll give you exactly what you asked for!"
The Purple Lightning Demon Lord charged, burning all of his innate Qi, but So-wol simply took the lightning head-on with her body before ending it by piercing straight through his solar plexus.
"That makes two."
After clearing each gate, a rest period of up to twelve double-hours—essentially a full day—was granted. Each time a battle ended, So-wol would retrieve the martial manuals from her opponents' robes, read them, and calmly review the experience of the fight.
"I look forward to our match," So-wol said politely.
"Very well. I shall sever that head of yours, wipe it clean, and send it back. I am called Doraegamgwi."
"I am So-wol."
Martial arts were peculiar. The faint sensations she had felt while observing the Kunlun Sect or the Green Forest bandits began to take a distinct shape within her as she witnessed the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon Sect's elders.
"Good heavens... Is that some kind of healing spell? Your wounds are closing up right in the middle of our fight! What kind of nonsense is this?"
"It is simply my natural recovery. If I concentrate my demonic energy on the wounded area, I can rapidly accelerate the healing process. It consumes a lot of energy, but my Master has fed me many wonderful things."
"Damn it all. Cult Leader, is this even winnable? And she says she has a master, too..."
"Your martial arts are quite fascinating. May I ask for an explanation?"
"I'd love to tell you, but considering the others waiting behind me, I can't do that. I can't let anyone die in vain because of me."
"Thank you for your hard work."
The realm that cultivators called Qi Circulation.
The martial arts So-wol had witnessed so far all pointed toward the same thing. The Profound Realm, which lay beyond the Transformed Realm. A realm built entirely to allow martial arts to reach the level of Qi Circulation, surpassing Core Condensation.
It was no exaggeration to say that this realm had been created by human hands. The manuals So-wol obtained from the enemies she killed were saturated with forms and insights designed specifically to perfectly counter Qi Circulation.
"Martial arts were created and developed with the sole purpose of killing cultivators."
Through the efforts of countless geniuses, a body of martial knowledge capable of slaying late-stage Core Condensation cultivators had been built. But from Qi Circulation onward, it was a different story. Humans lacked the absolute physical weight to kill monsters who naturally shrouded themselves in dozens of layers of protective Qi at all times.
Since enlightenment alone is not enough, we must increase our physical weight. After exploring countless paths, they had discovered another road: the Profound Realm, a realm that mimicked Qi Circulation.
Yet, looking at the martial predecessors who had crumbled and turned to dust in their desperate bid to reach Qi Circulation, So-wol could only let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle.
"But it is still not enough."
If one reached the Profound Realm, they might barely manage to exchange blows with a Qi Circulation cultivator, but their chances of winning would still be abysmally low. They boasted about countering techniques, but in the end, weren't they being helplessly slaughtered like this?
Strictly speaking, the only reason So-wol was winning battle after battle was because she remained vigilant and pushed them down with her superior physical weight. If a monster chose a straightforward approach—staying alert and steadily crushing their opponent with sheer physical superiority—the chances of them losing to a martial artist were virtually zero.
As she continued to slay elder after elder, every single one of them was wiped out except for the Sword Demon. Currently, she was holding her own against the joint attack of the Left and Right Guardians, as well as the Great Guardian.
"You are all in the Transformed Realm," So-wol noted.
"..."
"Does this 'Profound Realm' truly even exist? I have a grasp of what the Profound Realm is. After all, the Profound Realm is a hypothetical realm designed to mimic Qi Circulation. As a monster who is on the verge of Qi Circulation myself, I can grasp the clues to the Profound Realm. But for you all, who lack spiritual roots or anything of the sort, shouldn't it be impossible?"
The three Guardians answered with pure killing intent.
The sight of the three of them pouncing at once was far from elegant, but having fought her way up through the elders, So-wol was on the cusp of touching the Profound Realm. She welcomed the challenge.
Her core and internal energy were already tangled and fused in a chaotic mess with her demonic energy and monster bloodline. Even So-wol herself did not know what she would become. She only knew that the only answer was to treat herself as steel on an anvil, striking harder and harder to forge her path.
The combined tactics of the three Guardians were enough to make up for the physical disparity they faced when fighting a monster. However, the moment So-wol, who had fought bare-handed until now, drew her Spiritual Artifact, they crumbled, unable to endure.
It was only natural. A Spiritual Artifact was crafted from special materials by an artifact master who practiced specialized cultivation techniques using spiritual roots. The external weapons used by martial artists were primitive armaments that could not even be compared to a true Spiritual Artifact.
"Since I killed three of you, I am granted three days of rest, correct? Thank you for your hard work."
"Ah... the Profound Realm. Cult Leader... is the Profound Realm truly permitted to us? I have come to dare harbor doubts that even the Profound Realm is a state that exists solely for cultivators."
"Mmm."
"I have studied martial arts for over seventy years, hailed as a genius all my life, yet my seventy years have been overtaken by a mere slip of a girl. It is as if the heavens are mocking this old man, showing me that even the Profound Realm was ordained for cultivators."
With those final words, the Great Guardian closed his eyes. After studying diligently for three full days, So-wol headed toward the Nine Heavens, where the final opponent, the Sword Demon, awaited.
At the gate of the Nine Heavens, where the Sword Demon waited, So-wol could not help but gasp in surprise upon seeing him.
"That... is a Spiritual Artifact."
"Cultivators might call it a Spiritual Artifact, but to me, it is simply a sword. A sword passed down through generations of Sword Demons."
"Was it a gift?"
"I do not know. They say the first Sword Demon slew ten thousand men, dyeing the blade crimson, then used it to slay the Heavenly Fiend Star, and slaughtered another 4,444 lives after that. That is how it became like this."
"I have heard of such cases. An innate Spiritual Artifact, where coincidence and primitive sacrificial rituals combine to rarely mutate an object into a Spiritual Artifact."
The Sword Demon stared at So-wol in silence before letting out a quiet sigh.
"It is hopeless."
"You are quite strong. If you are lucky, you might even be able to kill me."
"That is not what I meant. I meant that it is hopeless for me to ever reach the Profound Realm."
"?"
"Looking at you and looking at myself, the fog has finally cleared. Martial arts are a discipline that draws out a living creature's potential to its absolute limit. However, the pure, innate limitations of a human cannot contain all of it. One should have practiced martial arts with the sturdy body of a monster or a magical beast."
So said the Sword Demon. He claimed that from the moment he began swinging a sword instead of his fists and feet, he was doomed to fail. Martial arts were a miracle that drew out all potential and limits of a living being. Like the first wild humans, one should have bitten with their teeth and torn savagely with their bare hands. But even then, humans were physically weak compared to other creatures, and that limit was the Transformed Realm.
"No one other than the Cult Leader and you will ever reach the Profound Realm."
"Is the Cult Leader not human?"
"See for yourself."
With those final words, the Sword Demon lunged.
His left arm was severed and reattached three times, and she lost count of how many times her ribs were slashed, but because she desperately guarded her neck and heart, the Sword Demon finally died of exhaustion after a battle that lasted seven days and seven nights.
"That was close."
The sword had been thrust right into So-wol's neck. If it had gone even a fraction deeper, her neck bone would have been in danger, and her Master would have stepped in. Even now, her Master stood in the distance, taking a deep breath with a look of relief on his face.
"Now, it is ready."
All preparations were complete. At the same time, she understood the difference between Universal Circulation and the Profound Realm.
"Master."
"Yeah?"
"If Universal Circulation is communicating with all things outside the world, then the Profound Realm is a state of communicating with and understanding everything within oneself. Master, in the Self-Circulation realm, you can control all the demonic energy in your body, but that doesn't mean you can truly control every single muscle and cell, right?"
"True."
"But the Profound Realm makes it possible. No, it is possible."
"And?"
"I believe that the Profound Realm fills in what Qi Circulation lacks, and Qi Circulation compensates for the lack of physical weight in the Profound Realm. They complement each other."
Having said that, So-wol held out her pale hand.
"Give me the Qi Circulation Pills."
"Did you leave them with me or something?"
"Please give them to me~"
As she acted cute, a shower of Qi Circulation Pills poured out. He had said he exchanged a massive amount of contribution points to get these to feed her. Indeed, her Master was a kind man. If only he would erase that vulgar streak of his and always show her a cool side, she might be twisting her body like a maiden in love.
"Oh."
While lost in thought, So-wol's body had already subtly snuggled into her Master's embrace. Her body, exhausted from the numerous consecutive battles, naturally clung to her Master to find comfort. She barely managed to soothe her body and correct her posture.
My goodness, is my body slipping out of control also an effect of martial arts?
Anyway, that wasn't the important part.
"Give me Elder Chi-o's technique, the Demon Transformation Art, as well."
"That? The one that turns you into a demonic beast?"
"Elder Chi-o could borrow the form of a monstrous bird. Just by doing that, the potential and possibilities of the martial arts one can use increase dozens of times over."
The Demon Transformation Art was a perfect match for martial arts. Since martial arts drew out a living creature's potential and limits to the absolute extreme, the Demon Transformation Art, which allowed one to transform into various demonic beasts, was the ultimate catalyst. Though, to borrow a beast's form, one had to refine that beast's brain and heart into an elixir and consume it.
And so, they arrived at the Heavenly Demon Palace.
"You have arrived?"
The Heavenly Demon was neither floating loftily in the sky nor sitting solemnly on her throne. Like the master of a house welcoming guests, she greeted them, glanced at So-wol, Hayun, and Jeongha in turn, and began to stroll through the Heavenly Demon Palace.
Oh.
Breasts voluptuously swollen just enough not to get in the way. Despite her perfect bodily proportions and snow-white, jade-like skin, she exuded an inexplicable aura of vibrant health. Her hair, a mystical blend of black and white, added to her mysterious charm.
In short, it meant her Master's cock had gone rock hard.
So-wol gently pressed down with her small hand on his cock, which looked ready to rip through his pants, as if telling him to hold back just a little.
"Ah. It's up."
...It was utterly ridiculous that her touch only made him harder. The atmosphere had felt somewhat mystical just a moment ago, but the moment her Master started showing off his hard-on and getting horny, everything turned incredibly vulgar.
Sigh...
What was truly laughable was that, looking at her Master's throbbing erection, she was actually thinking, That must hurt, or I should make him feel good soon and drain his cum. This man might be vulgar, but he knew exactly how to handle women—how to handle people.
The Heavenly Demon looked at So-wol gently stroking the hard cock and let out a scoffing laugh.
"To think the elders and Guardians of my sacred Sect met an untimely end at the hands of a bitch like that. They must be turning in their graves."
"You'll end up just like her soon."
Hayun smirked, tracing his finger along the line where So-wol's neck met her shoulder.
"Me? Well, perhaps. I might not know about that woman, but I can feel a powerful aura from a devil like you. My chances of winning might not be very high."
"No, that's not what I meant."
I pulled off So-wol's pussy cover and thrust my fingers into her two holes, stirring them. The warm, tight folds clung to my fingers.
"Ahhn..."
"I meant you'll end up like this."
"Vulgar beast."
I felt a bit bad for So-wol, but it didn't look like I could have a romantic, one-on-one duel with the Heavenly Demon like in the old days. Because...
"Jeongha. Get in position."
"Are we fighting? I can handle her on my own."
"Getting careless and dying is a classic cliché. If we crush her with sheer physical weight from the very start and pin her down, she won't be able to do a damn thing."
Scales were already sprouting from the Heavenly Demon's body.
Black scales began to emerge on her left and right hands. Her bright yellow pupils slit vertically. Her scaled arms twisted in a slightly grotesque, monstrous fashion before taking shape, and a bizarre energy—neither internal energy nor demonic energy—began to vortex around her body.
Thud!
The Heavenly Demon stomped her foot heavily. Standing in the air without a single flutter of her clothes, supported by an alien power, she gathered black and white energy in both hands and began to spin them into a spiral. At the same time, she burned with rage, her slitted pupils blazing as an oppressive pressure weighed down on the entire room.
She tilted her chin up arrogantly, stomped the air once more with bravado, and declared:
"But your pussy is probably third-rate."
The Heavenly Demon had just recited her own "third-rate defeated female pussy" declaration.
The moment she uttered those words, she had already lost any chance of victory.