Chapter 13: I'll Do Anything to Survive
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The martial art permitted only to the one who claims the title of Heavenly Demon, the pinnacle among the hundred thousand followers of the Divine Cult.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was a technique of unmatched power, incomparable to any other.
It didn't even consider defense.
It was a martial art focused solely on thoroughly overwhelming and crushing the opponent.
But if someone asked, "If you become the Heavenly Demon and master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, are you invincible?" the answer was no. If that were the case, the position wouldn't have been passed down through generations. If one achieved great completion in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, they could ascend to the throne of the world's greatest, just like the First Heavenly Demon. However, the Heavenly Demons after the first did not make it their primary cultivation.
Those who challenged for the Heavenly Demon's position were typically masters who had reached the extreme of the Super Peak realm.
They were individuals whose personal martial arts were essentially complete, so while they might dabble in the Heavenly Demon Divine Art upon ascension, they didn't cultivate it seriously.
Just as mixing too many beautiful pigments muddies the color, no matter how powerful the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was, blending it with one's established techniques could lead to a regression in realm.
Thus, successive Heavenly Demons acknowledged its strength but never made it their main art. The Heavenly Demon was the strongest, but not invincible.
The current Heavenly Demon's foundation is in ice arts, after all.
That didn't mean the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was useless.
It was a symbol. Less a practical tool and more like a ceremonial sword used in rituals and events.
Indeed, one of the Divine Cult's grandest ceremonies, the "Holy Fire Ritual," involved igniting the sacred fire—a divine relic of the cult. The art that allowed one to wield that holy fire was none other than the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Sado Hwan mastered the first half.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was divided into two parts.
The front half, concerning the mental method for handling internal energy.
The back half, containing forms tailored for the Heavenly Demon.
What Sado Hwan had learned was the front half, the internal energy method.
How was that possible? One had to rewind time a century.
To the Heavenly Demon Blood Purge a hundred years ago.
The Heavenly Demon of that era died in the martial world without naming a successor or heir.
Naturally, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was lost, and through a series of coincidences, the Sado family acquired the front half.
That's why later Heavenly Demons only practice the forms without the mental method.
In any case, the Sado family waited until all memory of the manual faded from people's minds.
Fortunately, the Blood Purge—the very cause of the art's disappearance—was a taboo topic even within the cult. Over decades, interest waned.
That was when the Sado family conceived their mad idea.
If only the Heavenly Demon could cultivate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art...
Then, inversely, cultivate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to become the Heavenly Demon.
That was why Sado Hwan—no, Pa Cheon—had learned the half-complete Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
It's also the reason Pa Cheon became meridian-blocked.
Pa Cheon was just five years old when he began cultivating it. The young child couldn't withstand the art's immense power and was fated to explode from the overload.
But the power of life is mysterious. To survive, Pa Cheon unknowingly transformed his body in an extreme way.
He didn't die, but he earned the heavenly punishment of blocked meridians, dooming him from becoming a true master.
A boy who could've been called a genius without question, reduced to that.
Unaware of the cause, Pa Cheon held immense trust in his family—especially his brother, whom he admired and followed. He'd forgotten it all stemmed from them. The shock at such a young age had erased his memories.
Of course, there was a way to resolve this body's blocked meridians.
The solution was simple and clear. Even Mu Jin, the protagonist of Murim Returner, had speculated the same.
Simply cultivate the back half of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Since the blockage came from the front half, the cure lay in completing it.
It was just a hypothesis, but mastering the full art might balance internal energy and forms, potentially healing the meridians and forging a true powerhouse.
The problem...
Was the very meaning of cultivating the back half.
Even acquiring the front half by chance, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was meant solely for the Heavenly Demon.
Thus, cultivating it equated to claiming the Heavenly Demon's throne.
As if I could do that.
Among the over hundred thousand warriors of the Divine Cult, only the strongest could become Heavenly Demon.
I wasn't born into the cult, nor was I a martial artist.
I was just Kim Dong Yun, an ordinary modern guy suddenly dragged here.
In truth, I'd lose to a third-rate warrior in a knife fight.
How could someone like me become Heavenly Demon?
Moreover, the current Heavenly Demon had surpassed Super Peak, reaching realms beyond—a monster among monsters. Even gravely wounded in the latter half of the novel, she matched swords evenly with that sword genius.
To inherit the throne, one had to defeat her. The odds converged to zero.
Finding Cheon Gi-ja seems more feasible.
Cheon Gi-ja wandered the world elusively, but he'd appear in major upcoming events.
With all those events mapped in my head, timing it right would make meeting him feasible.
That said, why hasn't Un Yeop Ja shown up yet?
We'd agreed to meet after half a day—he should've been here ages ago.
No way the future Kunlun Sword Prodigy of a righteous sect would lie.
Then Tak Horak ascended the stairs.
"Young master—no, liege."
Tak Horak handed me a letter.
"A letter arrived at the inn. Addressed to you, so I brought it up."
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I must delay our meeting by a few days.
"Hm..."
"He says to wait three days. Why not head back? The cult must want you to return anyway."
Tak Horak's words made sense. Reports of my cave incident had likely reached them, so returning promptly was proper.
But I need more preparation.
I'd fooled Peak masters like Dok So Gong and Sa Wol somehow.
But the Divine Cult teemed with Super Peak experts prowling like wild beasts.
Having planted the illusion of Super Peak in the Black Shadow Corps' minds, rumors would spread. All eyes would turn to me.
To properly play Sado Hwan, I needed more groundwork.
This works out perfectly.
"We wait."
"Pardon? But honoring a promise with some Kunlun warrior?"
"Un Yeop Ja isn't just any Kunlun fighter. He's destined to become a pillar of Kunlun. Everything he sees and hears ties to their future path—valuable intel for the cult."
"Ah...! As expected of you, liege."
Tak Horak's eyes widened in admiration. It wasn't that everyone except the protagonist was dumb—that was a cliché. Cult warriors were steeped in strength-supremacy logic to the bone, leaving many low-rankers simple-minded. Tak Horak seemed one of them.
"We'll stay in Taeryeong County for now."
"Yes, liege. What of Somyeongjang and the Baek family?"
What the hell?
"What nonsense is this?"
"We can't let those who insulted you slide. Tonight, we'll wipe out both clans."
I barely swallowed a curse. His clear eyes gleamed maniacally—was this the "pure-eyed lunatic" trend? Had I overstimulated his loyalty, frying his brain into excess zeal?
It was odd.
In Murim Returner, Tak Horak wasn't like this. He constantly doubted the protagonist, more a villain's henchman than main cast. Could a person change this much?
"Forget it. Avoid drawing attention."
"Understood."
"Find us rooms."
"Yes."
Tak Horak withdrew.
Every character in this Murim Returner was anything but ordinary.
Soon, he returned with a servant.
A vacant annex was available, so we moved there.
The annex was spacious, with a small courtyard—perfect for one person to move in.
"All of you, withdraw. I'm going to cultivate."
"Yes."
"Return tomorrow morning."
Sa Wol and Tak Horak bowed and left the annex.
For martial artists, cultivation was deeply private. Unless it was group training in the drill hall, peeking was taboo, like prying into one's greatest secret.
Lucky for me. Unlike Pa Cheon, I was a total novice in forms.
Confirming we were alone, Pa Cheon emerged from the sheath and floated before me, tilting its tip like facing a person.
[Cultivation, huh? What wind blew this sudden urge?]
"After that mess, I realized something. I look like easy prey."
[Parading as a warrior while treating your sword like that? Bound to seem weak.]
"...Can't argue there."
True. In the military, once issued a rifle, you kept it glued to your side. Same logic.
"So, teach me the sword, Pa Cheon."
I'd corrected my stance in the cave with his help—surprisingly patient guidance.
Pa Cheon couldn't use internal energy, but his form mastery was profound. Flashy, complex moves screamed "expert." His external arts were high-level from form-focused training.
[The sword... Demon, you're too late to learn. Cult warriors grip swords by seven or eight, before their heads stiffen.]
"Not planning to master every form. Just need to draw convincingly—that's enough."
[What kind of nonsense is that?]
"Learning forms now would make me a clumsy clown. Better to bluff with one flashy move, scare 'em off. Drawing technique suffices."
Pa Cheon trembled with rage. Understandable. Half a warrior, but deadly serious about martial arts. My words insulted any practitioner. Dismissing one's field lightly was infuriating.
But so what?
I'm "acting" as him to survive. I'm deceiving with my favorite thing—performance.
[You! What do you take martial arts for? It's for self-cultivation—]
"A means to protect myself."
I cut him off.
"I've become you, Pa Cheon. Show sloppy arts, and our plan crumbles that day. Want that?"
[......]
"I'll do anything to survive. Even if the world points fingers and spits. Without that resolve, you'll be a sword forever."
Pa Cheon calmed his trembling, then sighed deeply.
[I get it. But heed this warning: Never sully the Sado family's honor.]
I neither affirmed nor denied. He tsked in disapproval.
Couldn't commit. The Asura Sados crawled with villains.
Resigned, Pa Cheon approached.
[First, draw me.]
I gripped him.
[Drawing isn't simple. For precision, you must swing as I desire. Remember the cave?]
I nodded.
[Swing once.]
I closed my eyes, focusing. Recalling that memory, sensation.
Hot, humid cave. Faint hope.
I slashed down with full force.
[Impossible...!?]
Pa Cheon cried out in shock.