Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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Righteous-Demonic Great Blood War.
The Demonic Cult of the Demon God, which worshipped heretical demons, clashed with the Central Plains martial world in a bloodbath. It was recorded in history as a brutal and fierce war that would echo through the ages.
The initial battle was one-sided.
The Demonic Cult thoroughly crushed the complacent martial world.
Massacres and slaughters unleashed a storm of blood.
The martial world, suddenly facing disaster, hastily rallied their forces around the Murim Alliance as their focal point, but it wasn't enough.
The Demonic Cult's leader, Demon King Jang Cheon-gyeong.
The leader's prowess was said to have reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Demon Realm: the Demonic God Scripture. As if to prove it, even a joint assault from the martial world's representative absolute masters couldn't touch him.
A dark era with no hope left.
Then, a dramatic reversal occurred.
There emerged a figure who burst forth like a needle pulled from a pocket.
The god of battle, War King Kang Mujin.
The War King's appearance gave the martial world the chance to turn the tide. He seemed insignificant at first, but like a stone dropped into still water, he stirred massive waves. He was truly invincible.
War King Kang Mujin roamed the battlefield alone, severing the lifelines of countless demonic scum.
The War King's battles were desperate and tenacious.
Like a vengeful spirit risen from the depths of hell, he showed no mercy to distinguish friend from foe. Even the Demonic Cult's followers trembled in terror. Demons feared his arrival, while martial artists saw hope.
With the War King joining to reverse the tide, the Murim Alliance struck back as if bolstered by heavenly armies and demonic hordes. The crumbling momentum gradually evened out, and the martial world's hidden reserves proved far from negligible.
The Murim Alliance finally pushed the Demonic Cult into a corner.
The desperate Demonic Cult played their final card.
The one-on-one duel between the Demon King and the War King.
Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui Province.
There unfolded the epoch-making final battle between the War King and Demon King, with the martial world's fate hanging in the balance.
A transcendent struggle between a warrior of the mythical realm far beyond mortal limits and a demon who had reached the ultimate demonic extreme.
The bloodbath raged on without pause, day or night, for three full days.
The internal energy that seemed bottomless and the stamina that appeared inexhaustible proved relative. Both were absolute beings who had attained martial extremes never before witnessed.
At the end of that seemingly endless, desperate blood fight.
The Demon King knelt.
It was the War King's victory.
But it came at a heavy cost.
The Demon King was known to surpass even the Heavenly Demon, who had once shaken the world with peerless might. And it was true. The War King could claim victory only after paying an enormous price.
The Demon King teetered on the brink of death.
Haa, haa!
Even in his ragged breaths, his body convulsed, gushing thick blood. The pain must have been excruciating, yet his face held an eerie serenity.
The final bloom before death: the Return of Light, infused with his dying regrets.
Freed from the yoke of karma, his eyes shone clearer than ever. He resembled less a demon and more a Daoist sage on the cusp of ascension.
"Finally... free from being a mere hunting dog... kekekeke."
"Trying to vent one last time before you die? Normally, I'd ignore it, but I'll hear you out. Count yourself lucky."
After three days and nights of combat, they had come to recognize each other as equals.
He was a foe the War King could never afford to underestimate. Not even a split-second lapse was tolerated. Especially the Demon King's killing arts—they were chillingly lethal. Had he fallen prey to them and shown a gap, the one lying there would have been him.
"In the end, you and I are nothing but pawns on a board!"
"Pawn or not, does it matter? As long as we can fight, that's enough, isn't it? For both you and me."
Absurd ravings from a dying man. Had he lost his mind?
To claim the Demon King was merely a lackey—anyone overhearing would be stunned. The Demon King's power transcended human bounds. Absolute masters had fallen like autumn leaves before him. Who could believe such words?
The Demon King betrayed a puzzled look.
Normally, such talk would provoke rage or denial. All the more from the peerless warrior who felled him.
It was an unexpected response.
The attitude of a detached observer who cared little for the outcome.
And he saw it.
The War King harbored scant attachment to life. It wasn't transcendence—it was simply a lack of will to live.
"Why... won't you... rise?"
"I thought getting back up would fix everything. But look around—what's left beside me? Just a mob of greed-soaked humans closing in from afar. War held no meaning for me. It was merely an outlet to confront—no, escape—my past mistakes. Had you been stronger, hell itself would have been my refuge."
On the battlefield, the War King was truly a madman for combat.
A fearless warrior, the very incarnation of a demon. Yet death had never concerned him from the start. Could one call alive a man whose heart had died, leaving only his body to linger?
"Hah... So I—no, that guy—was just unlucky to get tangled in your grudge. Kekekeke. This... is rather amusing."
"Laughing like a fool when you're on your last breath."
Incredible composure for survivors of a life-or-death duel. Perhaps that's why it felt like conversing with a heartfelt friend. Strange, yet natural.
Friendship needn't span years. Merely three days, but exchanges aplenty had passed between them.
Their life's essences had clashed—it was no exaggeration to say they'd seen each other's entirety.
"What do you regret so deeply?"
"The family I abandoned. I was trash back then. And now? Nothing but a murderer."
Trash or murderer.
Failures as a human. Yet the world hailed the War King as the hero who saved the martial realm. While the man himself wallowed in regret's mire.
"Do you want to go back?"
"Hah, is that all you have for last words?"
His scoff masked the truth: if he could return, he would. Then he'd never commit those irredeemable errors.
Why had he clung to such hollow fame and glory? An immature era. That single choice became a lifelong regret, demanding an outlet for his pent-up rage.
The martial world's linchpin. Savior of the Central Plains.
He'd never sought such things. If only he could purge his anger and mistakes—even a wretched death reduced to dust would suffice.
But here's the joke?
Not a damn thing's resolved.
No relief whatsoever!
"You could make it... far more entertaining... kekekekeke!"
"You—what are you up to?"
The War King sensed something amiss.
He needed to act.
Oh no! His body wouldn't obey. Lying down or standing—power drain was the same.
'This isn't so bad.'
Those watching the War King and Demon King's duel.
They were the current era's absolute masters, the Murim Alliance's core leadership. Yet on this battlefield, they were mere spectators.
The War King was truly a once-in-a-millennium genius.
He had led a faltering Murim Alliance to annihilate the Demonic Cult—worthy of the title heaven's war god.
"Must it come to this?"
"Even after witnessing them, you speak such leisurely words!"
The War King and Demon King had transcended mortal bounds.
Half of Tianzhong Mountain had been obliterated.
Even they, paragons of martial mastery, felt dread and terror.
Shivering!
Lifelong martial artists, their pride unmatched. None stood above them.
Those two were different.
Beyond humanity.
A heaven beyond heaven.
Their overwhelming strength sent chills down spines. They knew this chance wouldn't come again.
Cunning. Ugly.
The unparalleled hero who expelled the Demonic Cult—his reward was betrayal, discarded like dirt.
Countless warriors followed the War King. To the vested powers, he was a threat. To preserve their world, he had to be eliminated.
Call it purging rot—history is the victor's tale. His legend would fade naturally.
"Steel your resolve. For ages, we've fought for the continent's peace. We cannot forsake the Lord's generational feats for a fleeting pang of conscience."
"Precisely. He brooks no compromise. He'll never bend to our will!"
The War King's dramatic rise and bold defiance.
He scorned the established order. A monster born solely for battle.
Should he live, his myriad followers would erode their standing.
He was the radicalism's core.
Behold even now.
He'd shattered the Demon King of Great Heaven Peak—the unbreakable wall of mourning.
They hadn't intervened, assuming they could subdue him if needed.
The Demon King was another league.
'He must die!'
'For our world!'
'He cannot live!'
Some might harbor doubts or scruples. Yet none defied the tide. No—they wouldn't. A single averted gaze secured their power.
In that instant.
Kwaaaaaang!
An earth-shattering explosion rocked the land, collapsing the mountains. The ridges crumbled. War King and Demon King sank from view.
"How... such a thing!"
"Better this way."
For those upholding righteousness, it was unwelcome. Best to let it end thus.
Yet they knew not.
The age of chaos had only just begun.