Paying Respects to the Supreme One
There's a saying.
You can't solve everything in the world with money.
But you can solve most things with money.
Couldn't solve it with money? Then maybe you just didn't have enough. Throw more money at it, and it'll work out.
Same principle here.
If you're short on booze, just bring more booze.
That's why I'd prepared a ton from the start. To set up this exact scenario.
'If he hadn't drunk any, that'd be one thing.'
Do Il Gwang had already knocked back some. After years of eating nothing but slop, this was high-end liquor worth millions per bottle back in the real world. No way he could stay sober.
"……It's real. This time it's really real!"
"Hmm— is that so."
Do Il Gwang was already on his fourth bottle, eagerly accepting the ones I handed him.
"More, gimme more!"
He was shaking like an addict.
I casually showed him the mouth of my bag. Plenty more bottles left inside.
"Recite the incantation again."
Sa Wol was a martial arts genius, but even she couldn't spot how craftily Do Il Gwang had swapped the incantation—thanks to the qi suppression here dulling her senses.
There was no guarantee he wouldn't feed me a fake one. Hell, given his personality, he'd definitely try.
"You idiot! How's it my fault if you can't understand it?!"
I pulled out a bottle and tossed it in the air, catching it over and over. Do Il Gwang's eyes followed it, bulging greedily.
"So, you gonna pass on it?"
"You bastard!"
"My ears hurt so bad my grip's slipping."
"What the hell do your ears have to do with your hands?!"
"The incantation."
Do Il Gwang ground his teeth and spat it out.
I heard it seven times total. That meant seven cross-checks.
[No lies this time, it seems.]
Pa Cheon said. His voice was still a bit hoarse—not fully recovered. But he'd come a long way. Good job, Pa Cheon! You're awesome, Pa Cheon!
[But there's something I don't get. The incantation boils down to 'weight is pulling'…… Who the hell is doing the pulling? An immortal? A ghost? Or a demon?]
The core of Domination seemed to revolve around gravity, after all.
True to his reputation as a prodigy in his youth, he'd interpreted the incantation. But he couldn't grasp the fundamentals.
The world of Return to the Murim wasn't big on science. 'If your head's dumb, your body suffers'—but here, a strong body solved most problems, so science never took off.
In a way, Do Il Gwang understanding gravity made him smarter than most.
'Aw, if I take back calling him dumb, he might explain it.'
[…….]
'Just like someone said, total thickhead—can't get it at all~.'
I was a liberal arts guy. Our high school physics teacher was nicknamed 'Mist'—as in, 'no physics here, you idiots.' And I couldn't even figure out why Cheolsu pulls Younghee up from a cliff, so yeah, liberal arts it was.
Still, I knew the basics.
[You know this stuff?]
'Of course. In my world, even snot-nosed kids know it as common sense.'
[C-common sense…….]
'So who's the thickhead now?'
I patted Pa Cheon. Maybe thanks to the teasing, the mood felt lighter than before. That should do it.
'Weight is a pulling force, yeah. Every object pulls on every other. The biggest one is this ground I'm standing on—this world itself. That's called gravity.'
[Gravity…….]
Eh, liberal arts-level explanation—who knows if it's spot-on. But Pa Cheon was smart; he'd get it.
[If it's just the earth's pull, how do all things stand on it? Is there an opposing force? Does the sky pull us too? Is the earth round? If so, it's so massive we can't feel the curve?]
'…….'
Maybe because he was a clone of Sado Gwang, Pa Cheon was a genius type too. How does your brain leap to that? Galileo would freak; Columbus would be jealous.
[That's all you know, demon? As expected, you're ignorant.]
'You're the weird one. Anyway, that's the gist. A pulling force, ultimately.'
[I see…… Then…….]
Pa Cheon started mumbling to himself.
"Heh…… No more booze now?"
"Nope."
"Then get lost."
"Was planning to anyway."
I crossed my arms, pondering.
Do Il Gwang was the former Heavenly Demon, the rebel. Three years out due to time lag.
He'd worsen the current Heavenly Demon's injuries, leading to needless deaths.
No guarantee I wouldn't be one of them. Cliché, sure, but I'd already butterflied the future massively.
So, kill him here?
"You. Planning to kill me?"
Simpleton, but sharp instincts. Maybe from killing so many, he was sensitive to killing intent.
"You can't kill me, heh……."
"Why not?"
"These chains drain my qi to sustain the Punishment Cave formation. Kill me, and it collapses—prisoners go free."
"So?"
I bluffed. Wasn't even trying to—it just flowed out, concept and all merged now.
"Doesn't matter how many prisoners. Weaklings locked in an underground hole after defeat—what changes?"
"Kid, booze for advice: strut like that with your nose in the air, and you'll meet a pathetic end someday."
"If it's a fitting end, I don't care."
For the first time, Do Il Gwang looked at me seriously—not like a madman.
"Got resolve, huh. To reach that realm, you need your own convictions."
Realm? Bullshit. I outsourced incantation-cracking to my wuxia AI sword.
"Don't lose that conviction, kid. Lose it, and your realm crumbles too."
My conviction? Survive. That's it.
"Once a month. I'll bring booze."
"What's your angle?"
I had mountains of crap to handle right now. Step out, and I'd unravel the Pa Cheon-Sado Gwang mess.
Expose Sado Gwang's plot, topple him—Sado Family fights the whole cult inevitably.
'Killing Do Il Gwang here just adds headaches.'
No need for extra variables. Three years left anyway.
"Call it respect for a former Heavenly Demon."
Lame excuse, but it moved him.
"……I'll keep quiet about your Heavenly Demon Divine Art."
"Wasn't asking for that."
"Hmph, confident, eh? Ballsy bastard. Come back with booze next time. I'll explain Domination's secrets you 'don't get.'"
Pa Cheon scoffed.
[Don't get it? This body? I'll show you.]
Pa Cheon slid from his sheath. Sword qi surged along the blade.
He slowly slashed down from above.
That instant—
Kwa-duk—!
The cave floor shattered like an invisible hammer smashed it, cratering deeply. A three-meter radius crushed into a perfect circle.
"How?!"
"Wasn't that hard a concept."
"Huh?"
Do Il Gwang gaped like I'd grown a second head. Speechless.
Modern knowledge cliché, check.
"I'm good. Teach my subordinate now."
"You think he'd grasp even a fraction of my teachings?!"
"Depends on the student's talent. And if you bullshit us…… no more booze."
He met my eyes and blurted desperately.
"I'll teach with utmost sincerity!"
I turned without regret.
Got what I came for…….
'Ugh.'
Sa Wol and Tak Horak—fresh from qi circulation—stared blankly, clueless.
A week passed in the Punishment Cave.
Sleeping on the hard, cold stone was pure torture. Bugs crept everywhere. Black Ox Powder kept them off, or we'd have been infested.
Now I got why everyone dreaded this place. Unlike me, shielded by Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Sa Wol and Tak Horak visibly wilted without masks.
I could've bailed first—Sado second son, who cares. But Sa Wol's anti-personnel secret weapon punishment was a week, so I toughed it out. Leaving bare-handed? Suicide.
"……Can't you take me too, Liege?"
Tak Horak pleaded with big puppy eyes. A bronzed, buff guy play-acting pitiful wasn't fun to watch.
"Defy sacred law?"
"Then stay another week—"
He cut off. Sa Wol's glare zapped him.
Even stoic Sa Wol struggled here.
"In a week, I'll send food."
"Oh yeah!"
"But visit Do Il Gwang. Feed him booze."
"……Pardon?"
Tak Horak paled. The guy who'd taken internal injuries from Do Il Gwang's mere qi-boosted presence.
"Don't wanna?"
"W-well…… Kinda scary, heh…… He's a major criminal……."
"No food then."
"Can't we scrape by on what's left?"
"Food's Sa Wol's. She'll take it back. Right?"
Sa Wol nodded. Tak Horak's face crumpled.
"Rats, bats, bugs—fine meal. Or wait for scraps from above."
"Liege! I obey without question. Delivering booze to Do Il Gwang? I'll do it gladly!"
"Who knows. He might even teach you."
"……!"
Tak Horak's eyes widened.
Criminal's arts? User's sin, not the art's. Cult doctrine.
Lessons from an ex-Heavenly Demon? Priceless.
'First, survive his aura…… But if he does, Tak Horak breaks through.'
Anyone I could trust getting stronger? Welcome news.
Thus, Sa Wol and I exited the cave.
And—
"……?!"
I saw her.
The strongest in Return to the Murim's world. Sovereign of all demons. One to avoid at all costs—
"Paying respects to the Supreme One."
The Heavenly Demon, Yi Se-ryeong.
Pretending to Be the Heavenly Demon