Chapter 0
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Prologue
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Prologue.
Snap!
The jade plaque engraved with the blue character for "Elephant" captured the jade plaque engraved with the red character for "Chariot."
"Chu's Elephant captures Han's Chariot!"
The man watching the Xiangqi board raised his voice in a shout.
In sync with the man's call, a young martial artist draped in cloth emblazoned with the character "Elephant" on his chest and back crossed the line drawn on the ground.
He arrived before another young martial artist wearing cloth marked with the red "Chariot" and swung his sword without hesitation.
Slash!
The young martial artist's head rolled across the ground before he could even scream properly.
As soon as the headless body collapsed, black-clad martial artists rushed in and hurriedly dragged the corpse out of the training ground.
Heh heh heh heh...
An elderly man let out a booming laugh as he urged the man sitting across from him, eyes closed.
"Where's the one playing Xiangqi?"
The man with eyes squeezed shut reluctantly moved his hand, shifting the red-engraved "Horse" piece.
Snap!
No sooner had the red Horse moved than the blue Cannon captured the red Guard.
"Chu's Cannon captures Han's Guard!"
Aaaargh!
A scream echoed from the open ground. The man seated at the Xiangqi board, who had been moving Han's pieces, shifted in his seat, knelt, and prostrated himself.
"Please, stop. I, Zhuge Mo, will offer my life in their stead, Great Heavenly Demon."
Kuhahaha!
The Great Heavenly Demon burst into laughter.
"What use is the head of the Zhuge Family Head? Tell me where Divine Calculator Zhuge Cheon is, and I'll let you withdraw for today."
The prostrated head of the Zhuge Family remained utterly still, silent.
Tsk...
Irritated by this, the Great Heavenly Demon turned his head slightly and issued a command.
"Kill them all."
"Wait! I'll... tell you."
In the end, the Zhuge Family Head yielded to the Great Heavenly Demon and revealed the Divine Calculator's hiding place.
"Heavenly Mountain... in Liaoning."
Heh heh heh heh...
"Fled far, hasn't he."
The Great Heavenly Demon slowly rose from his seat.
It looked as if a massive mountain was rising.
Over eight feet tall with broad shoulders, he instinctively intimidated anyone facing him.
Thick eyebrows like a tiger's, graying hair like a lion's mane, and the piercing glow from his fierce eyes instilled terror that even seasoned experts of the martial world dared not meet with their gaze.
"We're heading back."
The Great Heavenly Demon ascended the steep and treacherous Heavenly Mountain without hesitation.
The path deep into the mountains was as wide and clean as a household courtyard, as if welcoming an honored guest.
Crossing dozens of feet in a single stride, the Great Heavenly Demon halted before a massive stele blocking the way.
Those Who Come Do Not Return
Heh heh heh...
Blatantly provocative words, yet the Great Heavenly Demon paid them no mind.
He passed by the stele with a light chuckle.
Crumble... rumble...
The moment he passed, the stele shattered into fragments and poured onto the ground.
"What have you prepared for me, Zhuge Cheon?"
Zhuge Cheon, known in the martial world as the Divine Calculator, was the greatest foe to the Demonic Cult on the verge of unifying the jianghu.
His martial arts were not transcendent enough to shake the world, but his foresight and wisdom were unrivaled.
Thus, countless Demonic Cult warriors sent to conquer had fallen into his traps.
As the Great Heavenly Demon climbed the deep, rugged Heavenly Mountain, the entrance to a black cave appeared before him.
The cave, nearly two feet high and wide, was so dark its depths were unfathomable.
Yet nothing in the world frightened the Great Heavenly Demon.
His Divine Eyes and senses, transcending mortal limits, pierced the darkness like daylight.
Striding boldly into the deep, dark cave, he soon spotted a faint streak of light emanating from within.
At the same time, a subtle aroma of fine liquor wafted to his nose.
Enticed by the deep, rich scent, the Great Heavenly Demon quickened his pace unconsciously.
Guided by the dim light, he arrived in a vast stone chamber.
On the chamber floor sat a refined middle-aged man in white Daoist robes.
"Welcome, Great Heavenly Demon."
Zhuge Cheon greeted his guest while seated.
Heh heh heh...
The Great Heavenly Demon chuckled lightly and sat facing him.
Glug glug...
Zhuge Cheon filled the cup on the table and met the Great Heavenly Demon's eyes.
"I've been waiting."
The Great Heavenly Demon nodded and drained the cup without hesitation.
Mixed with the profound liquor aroma, something that burned like fire slid down his throat.
It was a vicious deadly poison.
"Disappointing. To think you'd believe such crude poison could kill me."
Having achieved immunity to all poisons, the Great Heavenly Demon casually seized the bottle and guzzled it down.
Gulp gulp...
After emptying it, he stared piercingly into Zhuge Cheon's calm eyes.
Those serene eyes belonged to one who reigned supreme in strategy, mechanisms, and formations in the martial world.
"Join me. I'll give you a position above all but one."
Zhuge Cheon offered a faint smile.
"Become a devil's lackey, you mean."
Heh heh...
"Exactly. In return, if you join me, I'll spare the Zhuge Family."
Zhuge Cheon closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and grasped a thin, taut string laid across the floor.
"Do you know what this is, Great Heavenly Demon?"
"Should I?"
The Great Heavenly Demon showed no interest in the string.
"Great Heavenly Demon, before you entered, I already drank that liquor."
No sooner had Zhuge Cheon finished speaking than blood trickled from his mouth, staining his lips red.
The Great Heavenly Demon's lips twisted slightly.
"You called me here to show me your suicide?"
But instead of answering, Zhuge Cheon yanked the string.
"See you later, Great Heavenly Demon."
Only then realizing something was gravely amiss, the Great Heavenly Demon hurriedly raised his hand toward the now-taut string.
Snap.
The moment the string snapped and fell limp, Zhuge Cheon's head slammed onto the table as he toppled over.
Boom!
A earth-shaking roar rocked the chamber, dislodging stones from the ceiling that rained down on the Great Heavenly Demon.
Thick dust poured in from the entrance, filling the interior.
"Insolent fools!"
The Great Heavenly Demon caught a massive falling boulder with one hand and hurled it aside.
Rising, he drew his sword and slashed at the chamber wall.
Slash! Scraaape!
The stone wall cracked like a spiderweb and collapsed.
But behind the rubble was not open air—it was an iron wall of black steel.
The Great Heavenly Demon's expression hardened further.
He had never even dreamed of such preparations.
This level of meticulous fortification meant Zhuge Cheon had long foreseen the Demonic Cult's invasion.
Graaaaw!
His sword, wrapped in sword energy, carved spiderweb scars into the iron wall.
"...Millennia-Old Cold Iron."
A grim voice escaped the Great Heavenly Demon's lips.
The Zhuge Family alone couldn't prepare this.
Only the Tang Family of Sichuan could forge walls from Millennia-Old Cold Iron.
And the collapsed entrance was undoubtedly the Wall Family's Heaven-Shaking Thunder.
If he escaped this place, he would exterminate the Zhuge Family, Tang Family, and Wall Family to the last.
The Great Heavenly Demon gathered all his power into his sword tip.
A force that could cleave the heavens surged into the iron wall.
Boom!
More boulders fell from the ceiling, and the thick Millennia-Old Cold Iron wall split long, revealing what lay beyond.
Raaaaagh!
The Great Heavenly Demon, unmoved by most things, let out a roar of fury.
Behind the iron wall was yet another rock face.
How thick was that rock wall?
The Great Heavenly Demon gauged the distance from the entrance to the chamber.
Over twenty feet, at least.
No matter how sky-high his martial prowess, piercing such an insane thickness was impossible.
He had been too arrogant.
No—he had underestimated Zhuge Cheon.
He should have known the man who tormented the Demonic Cult with schemes would have one final move.
Not bringing subordinates to this "negotiation" with Zhuge Cheon was a fatal regret.
With them waiting outside, he could have cleared the rubble in days if needed.
Huuuuh...
The Great Heavenly Demon felt his breathing grow labored.
"This... damn..."
The deep cave's air was dwindling.
He couldn't just sit idly waiting for rescue.
Even the Turtle Breathing Technique had limits.
In a place where air vanished, unleashing it would mean eternal sleep.
No choice remained.
The Great Heavenly Demon lay back on the dust-covered floor.
His breaths grew fainter as he lay there.
"You bastards...! When I... get out of here... I'll crush you first!"
In the end, no subordinates came.
Awakening from the Turtle Breathing Technique, the Great Heavenly Demon vented his rage at the absent men.
After unleashing curses, his breath came in gasps to his jaw.
No other way now.
Only suffocation awaited.
The jianghu historians would roll laughing if they knew.
The world's strongest warrior perishing from lack of air...
Hahk... heuk...
Amid choking breaths, a incantation from ancient scriptures surfaced in his mind.
Heaven-Earth Soul-Returning Dual Origin Technique
Those who comprehended its essence at death's door could revive, it was said.
He had mastered all arts in the Demonic Essential True Scripture, yet gained nothing from that incantation.
For its mastery required passing through death.
"Damn it..."
Unification of the jianghu within reach, reduced to relying on an uncertain incantation...
An utterly despairing situation.
After hesitating, the Great Heavenly Demon raised his left hand, palm open.
Swish.
The sword sliced across his palm in an instant.
Drip... drop...
Red blood welled and spilled to the ground.
With his own blood, the Great Heavenly Demon drew a circle on the floor.
Pressing his palms together in prayer, he chanted the incantation.
"Sabaha bara masaha..."
⟨ Heaven-Earth Soul-Returning Dual Origin Technique ⟩
As the eerie incantation flowed from the Great Heavenly Demon's lips, red energy rose from the blood circle on the floor.
The energy enveloped his entire body and shot up to the chamber ceiling.
The red energy filling the chamber was suddenly engulfed in brilliant light, then vanished in an instant.
In its place lay the so-called supreme warrior of the world, still as death.