Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Divine Bow Ha Cheol-hyeok
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In the martial world, earning a moniker is no easy feat.
It signifies recognition from all who dwell there.
Such titles reveal much about their bearer.
The current Martial Alliance Leader's moniker is Thunderclap Sword Emperor, proclaiming him a master of the sword who prioritizes speed above all.
The Demonic Cult Leader is Sky-Shattering Blade Master, a title befitting one who wields overwhelming power and unyielding spirit with his blade.
In the martial world, these two are counted among the three supreme warriors.
But if one must name a single absolute strongest?
It's a question that requires no thought.
Even an infant could answer clearly.
Neither Thunderclap Sword Emperor nor Sky-Shattering Blade Master would even be mentioned.
A mountain far too immense loomed before their names.
Divine Bow Ha Cheol-hyeok!
The sole man granted the epithet of 'divine.' A peerless powerhouse whose legends filled volumes.
When Ha Cheol-hyeok first set foot in the martial world, he was met with ridicule.
Solely for wielding a bow.
In a realm where sword and blade reigned supreme, the bow was dismissed as a coward's tool.
"What can a mere bow accomplish?"
Dozens, hundreds of warriors sneered.
And they all perished.
Unable to erase the mockery from their eyes and faces.
Not even the adamantine experts who boasted of their peak prowess were spared.
They couldn't draw a weapon or twitch a finger before a hole pierced their brow.
Thus began Ha Cheol-hyeok's odyssey through the martial world, each step etching legend.
He struck a single grain of rice from five hundred paces away and toppled a city wall with one arrow from a thousand.
"The bow is a vile weapon. He sullies the honor of true warriors."
The Moyong Family, displeased by this rising star, publicly denounced him.
"I'll head there myself."
Ha Cheol-hyeok marched alone toward the Moyong Family estate.
Two hours later, the family was annihilated.
Over a hundred warriors had gathered, yet none withstood his arrows.
It was only natural.
How could mortals who incited a god's wrath survive?
Having utterly crushed the Moyong Family, Ha Cheol-hyeok claimed their vast manor and had dwelled there alone for a decade.
Curiously, the region around Yoling grew more peaceful than ever after he took root in their stead.
Neither the Martial Alliance, the Demonic Cult, nor even the Beggars' Sect beggars dared venture there.
During the Great Orthodox War five years prior, not a single scream or clash of arms echoed in Yoling.
Who would dare draw steel before the Divine Bow's home?
Even with a hundred lives, they'd be found a corpse by dawn.
Dead a hundred times over through the night, oblivious to their own demise.
And their end would be gruesomely unknown—when or how it struck.
In the worst case, discovered mid-defecation, un-wiped.
"Never! No matter what, do not incur the Divine Bow's wrath."
Even the Martial Alliance Leader and Demonic Cult Leader dreaded clashing with him.
Ha Cheol-hyeok!
His mere name, his very existence, kept Yoling at peace to this day.
The Divine Bow's manor was always serene and tranquil.
A sanctuary where not even raised voices were permitted, let alone blades drawn.
Yet suddenly, an monstrous gale erupted from the silent estate.
Whooooosh.
A colossal aura swirled around Ha Cheol-hyeok, seated alone in the vast training grounds.
'The perfection of learning lies in practice.'
In that instant, his body floated gently into the air.
A miraculous enlightenment had dawned even upon the Divine Bow, who seemed to have reached the pinnacle.
'Martial arts, at their root, mirror human life.'
Life and martial prowess are not separate.
Only when they harmonize perfectly does one become a true warrior.
And when that harmony reaches its zenith...
'I've pursued the emptiness of martial arts all my life. Life must be the same.'
A new realm unfolds.
Creeeeak.
Space warped above his head, opening a translucent gate.
Prismatic light poured from the narrow slit.
Shaaaa.
A light guiding one whose existence had grown too vast for the mortal realm.
Ascension Gate!
True to his title, Ha Cheol-hyeok was on the verge of becoming a genuine god.
His levitating form surged toward the gate.
"Do you cling to fame and fortune?"
Was it heard, or merely thought?
An enigmatic voice pierced his mind, defying definition.
'No.'
Ha Cheol-hyeok answered resolutely.
"All you've achieved will scatter. Even your flesh."
'So it should be.'
He replied without hesitation.
Yet his ascending body halted abruptly and plummeted.
Thud.
Only his flesh fell. His soul pressed onward unyieldingly toward the gate.
At last, the Divine Bow's hand touched the divine realm's door.
"Have you forsaken worldly attachments?"
'I leave nothing behind.'
Ha Cheol-hyeok spoke no lies. He believed it truly.
But was it mere delusion?
The radiant light from the gate flickered.
Then, his life's panorama flashed before his eyes.
'My childhood self.'
Ha Cheol-hyeok had been abandoned as an orphan, unknown even to parents.
To avoid starvation, he roamed wild mountains, mastering the bow alone to survive.
In a cave sheltering from rain, he found a fortuitous encounter, gaining the peerless martial art Return Heart Technique.
A lifetime's devotion amassed three cycles of inner energy, crowning him the martial world's sovereign.
'Is this truly all?!'
His life held no people.
All feared him, keeping their distance.
Yet he'd never once found it burdensome.
It was his norm since birth—always alone.
'No! I didn't live like this. I had connections.'
He denied it first.
When was it? He vaguely recalled marriage proposals.
And countless sought to learn his bow arts—talented, kind children among them.
"So you took them in?"
Ha Cheol-hyeok fell silent. He hadn't.
The moment he saw their greedy eyes coveting only his power, he ended the betrothals.
Raising disciples seemed like mere babysitting; he refused all.
Thus, he was always alone.
"How can you claim to have discarded what you never possessed?"
Rebuke or solace?
His chest stung like an arrow's bite.
After long torment, he answered arduously.
'I've never received such, so I know not. It's not learned.'
Love and care.
Affection.
A warm meal.
From birth, none were granted to Ha Cheol-hyeok.
'Surely I had parents...'
He'd never shown it, but he'd often wondered about them.
Not riches, just the feel of a warm bowl from parental hands.
The one fragment the god-called man lacked.
Whish.
A gentle breeze arose, pulling his soul gradually from the gate.
That trivial final attachment chained his ankle.
'Why did they abandon me? Were they happy after?'
The faceless parents loomed larger, finally engulfing his body.
"Your time has not yet come."
With a voice like a verdict, his soul plummeted to the ground.
Returning to mortal flesh.
'Hah! Foiled by a shallow longing?'
Dejected, Ha Cheol-hyeok slowly looked up.
The gate was closing, light fading.
But that wasn't the only issue.
"Never possessed. Never possessed. Never..."
That stinging voice echoed wildly in his mind.
The gate vanished, but the sharp barb lingered, weighing on his heart.
'Urk!'
His three cycles of inner energy surged wildly from the dantian.
Heart Demon Deviation!
Failed ascension weakened his mind and body, letting the venom spread swiftly.
Crack.
Meridians twisted, dantian swelled to burst. Even skin bulged grotesquely.
'Is this pathetic end why I lived?!'
The Divine Bow who terrorized the martial world sank swiftly before humanity.
And finally.
Boom!
The dam of his dantian crumbled.
"Ruyan, wake up now. You still need to eat something."
When Ha Cheol-hyeok regained consciousness, a faint warm breeze brushed his body.
Then he saw an elderly man gazing down with deep concern.
"Who are you? This isn't a place just anyone can enter..."
"You must've had another strange dream."
The elder's face darkened sharply at the question, eyes mingling pity, guilt—and profound affection beneath.
"Come now, pull yourself together and try this. I added plenty of meat today; it should be tasty."
Ha Cheol-hyeok stared at the porridge bowl the elder offered.
As promised, chunks of meat filled it, steam rising warmly.
'What is this? A stranger, yet showing me such kindness...'
Many had come laden with gold and jewels to curry favor, but simple porridge like this was new.
Yet it didn't repulse. An inexplicable warmth tingled to his fingertips.
Instinctively, his hand reached out—but he paused, assessing.
'Heart Demon Deviation?'
He'd unwittingly fallen to it.
No matter the failed ascension, it was foolish in hindsight.
Meridians tangled, dantian collapsed—he should've bled out.
'How am I alive?'
Confused, Ha Cheol-hyeok blinked. He noticed the elder's hand trembling finely holding the bowl.
A frail hand struggling with one bowl's weight.
Ha Cheol-hyeok hesitated, then accepted it.
No appetite yet, he set it aside and surveyed.
'Not my manor. Where is this?'
A shabby hut of woven old planks. He lay on a simple bed of piled dry straw.
'The elder's home? If he reversed my deviation, his medical skill is exceptional...'
He needed the full story first.
But before he could ask, the elder's bitter voice emerged.
"No appetite again? You must force it down anyway."
"No, it's not that..."
Ha Cheol-hyeok shook his head, brushing off the worried gaze.
But then.
Moving his head brought excruciating pain.
'Ugh, my head's splitting.'
Brain-piercing agony flashed unfamiliar scenes.
Scenes utterly alien, never experienced.
'Why are these memories so vivid? As if I lived them.'
New memories chronicled the life of a fifteen-year-old boy named Ruyan.
Startled amid pain, Ha Cheol-hyeok examined his hands.
Slight unease when taking the bowl, but now glaringly obvious.
'This isn't my body!'
Skinny arms like bare bones. Pristine hands untouched by hardship.
Gone were his callused palms, hardened from millions of bow draws.
Unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar.
'Ruyan. The boy's body!'
Ha Cheol-hyeok realized instantly. He'd awakened in young Ruyan's body.
And those alien memories were undeniably real.
'Hah. How is this possible?!'
He'd heard of the Blood Cult's corpse puppet arts beyond the borders.
Transferring a warrior's memories to a puppet for pseudo-immortality—a bizarre sorcery.
'No, different. And this place is...'
Sobles Continent.
The unrivaled Divine Bow had opened his eyes anew—not in the Central Plains.