Chapter 534: Traces of a Past Life (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 534: Traces of a Past Life (4)
China's decision.
To understand the reasoning behind it, one had to go back a short while.
During the 6th Great Disaster, China had been in a relatively safe position when they received an alliance proposal from South Korea's President Kim Jeong-tae. The offer: help suppress the domestic rebellion in exchange for jointly subjugating North Korea. On the surface, it looked like a simple military alliance. However, neither side was ignorant of the truth—this was the first stepping stone toward South Korea degenerating into a vassal state.
China readily accepted.
Under the command of Chairman Wang Wiryong, forces led by Sword Ghost Xiao Long departed for South Korea.
"Your Majesty the Emperor. We have finally achieved the will of our great nation. North and South Korea have always been thorns in our side, but if we use this incident as an opportunity to interfere in South Korea's state affairs, they will soon be calling themselves 'subjects of the great nation.'"
"Foolish bastards. To sell out their entire country just because they couldn't endure a momentary crisis."
Wang Wiryong smirked.
North and South Korea.
Just as his subordinate said, they were thorns in his side.
Every year, China suffered from the influx of monsters flooding out of North Korea, yet they couldn't launch a large-scale subjugation. Too many countries around the world were waiting for a chance to drag China down. They couldn't afford a reckless loss of troops. Furthermore, South Korea, sitting just beyond the North, was as uncomfortable as a fishbone lodged in their throat. If they could annex the entire Korean peninsula, they could lay the foundation for continental conquest. However, with the World Government interfering in every little thing, they hadn't been able to make an overt move.
But now, things were different.
From the moment President Kim Jeong-tae reached out, China gained the perfect justification to interfere in South Korea's internal affairs.
"South Korea is merely a stepping stone in our preparations for continental conquest. As the one and only Emperor of this world, I will conquer the globe and make China the greatest nation in history. This is the aspiration our ancestors have always yearned for. The monumental achievement that even historically renowned heroes failed to accomplish will be completed by my hands."
"Ah!"
"Your Majesty the Emperor! Rule the world!"
His subordinates cheered enthusiastically.
Exuding a massive, overbearing presence, Wang Wiryong basked in the adoring, passionate gazes of his followers, accepting them as his due.
From the day he ascended to the throne as Emperor, he had harbored the ambition of continental conquest in his heart.
Everything was the Heavenly Mandate.
In a world that revolved around him, he was absolutely certain he was the great hero destined to save it.
"Yes, I shall rule the world."
He looked down upon the world from his metaphorical peak.
The time had come.
Before long, he would reign with the entire globe beneath his feet. Xiao Long, whom he had sent to South Korea, would soon return with news of victory, laying the foundation for his continental conquest. He did not doubt Xiao Long's success. Although rumors said Roman Dmitry had dealt with an S-Rank monster, the Sword Ghost possessed a martial prowess far greater than what was known to the public.
However.
"Your Majesty the Emperor. Xiao Long has returned."
"...What do you mean by that?"
A crack appeared in Wang Wiryong's confident expression.
No matter how he thought about it, this was strange. Even if he had perfectly executed his orders, Xiao Long had returned to China far too early.
* * *
Xiao Long knelt.
Wearing the face of a condemned sinner, he explained the situation.
"...I am deeply sorry. If Roman Dmitry were simply strong, I would have fought to the bitter end to prove the power of our great nation, even if it meant my death. But I could not do so. Roman Dmitry wiped out the Royal Guards in a single blow. He used 'true martial arts' rather than a fake created by the System. Believing that I absolutely had to inform Your Majesty of this fact, I compromised with reality and chose to retreat to our homeland."
In that instant, Wang Wiryong's expression froze.
This was not something he could easily accept.
True martial arts represented the very roots of China, a sacred domain that should never be permitted to a foreigner like Roman Dmitry. But that wasn't the only problem. Even knowing he might lose his head over this failure, Xiao Long conveyed exactly what he had seen and heard.
"Roman Dmitry... the martial arts he used were shockingly powerful. They were at a level where even I dared not fathom their limits. South Korea's Royal Guard Captain, despite being an S-Rank, could not withstand even a single blow. Your Majesty, Roman Dmitry has clearly obtained 'something' rooted in our great nation."
"...Can you stake your life on those words?"
"Yes. I will stake my head on it. Roman Dmitry is undoubtedly an existence who has inherited the will of the long-lost Murim."
It was a shocking revelation.
If the speaker had been anyone other than Xiao Long, Wang Wiryong would never have accepted it as truth.
Xiao Long was not a man to speak falsehoods or add unnecessary exaggeration. He had made great contributions during Wang Wiryong's rise to the imperial throne, followed him with absolute sincerity, and shared his dream of continental conquest. Because it was Xiao Long, he could believe him. If everything he saw and heard was true, then South Korea was no longer the priority. They first needed to clearly verify the existence of Roman Dmitry.
Wang Wiryong shouted.
"Bring me all data regarding Roman Dmitry immediately! His past, his actions, and his performance in battle. I will verify it myself and make a judgment on this man."
"We obey your command!"
"We obey your command!"
A fire had been lit under their feet.
At a time when the rest of the world was in chaos due to the aftermath of the Great Disaster, China focused entirely on Roman Dmitry.
The entire intelligence bureau mobilized to secure data, eventually obtaining video footage of Roman Dmitry in battle.
Wang Wiryong played the footage.
The Royal Guard Captain versus Roman Dmitry.
The moment he watched the clash between the two, Wang Wiryong could not hide his grim dismay.
Boom!
Rumble!
The Captain was swept away in a single blow.
While ordinary people would simply marvel at the sheer destructiveness of the strike, Wang Wiryong saw something else—a system of martial arts whose limits he dared not fathom. It was a shocking truth. Even Wang Wiryong, who styled himself as the hope of Murim, felt his heart drop at the profound depth of the martial arts Roman Dmitry employed.
He sat absorbed in the video for a long time.
He couldn't speak a single word.
Staring blankly, Wang Wiryong finally tore his eyes away from the screen and looked at the subordinates waiting on his command.
"...All of you, withdraw."
He couldn't say anything else.
His subordinates quietly filed out of the room.
Wang Wiryong stood up unsteadily and walked weakly toward a certain hidden place.
* * *
Deep within a secret space, there was a mural.
On this massive wall was the painting of a man wielding a sword. This figure was the very foundation of the martial arts that had birthed Wang Wiryong.
"...How on earth did this happen?"
Ten years ago.
Wang Wiryong had seemingly appeared out of nowhere to unify a divided China.
The public thought his emergence was sudden, but in truth, Wang Wiryong had overcome countless hardships to ascend to the imperial throne.
A long time ago, Murim existed in China.
It flourished to a degree that the Imperial Court could no longer control. The Emperor, feeling threatened by the formidable power of the martial artists, enacted a policy to exterminate them. Thus, Murim fell. During the era when the Heavenly Demon—the absolute ruler who had conquered Murim—existed, the Imperial Court's plans failed time and again. But with the Heavenly Demon's sudden disappearance, the Emperor finally succeeded in dividing and destroying Murim.
They tore the martial arts manuals to shreds.
They destroyed the very foundations of cultivation so that no one could ever touch such dangerous power again.
The descendants of Murim were scattered across the world, and as time passed, the very fact that Murim had once existed faded into myth.
Wang Wiryong and Xiao Long.
Both were descendants of Murim.
They had kept the lineage alive in the shadows. The reason modern people did not know of the existence of true martial arts was simply that practitioners could no longer exert the formidable power recorded in the past. With the fall of Murim, the foundation of martial arts was lost. Centuries of accumulated knowledge evaporated. Furthermore, as modern society developed, the world's natural energy became violently polluted. Internal energy could no longer be accumulated through ancient methods. The ancestors of Murim, who had already lost so much, could not overcome the grim reality of their martial arts gradually deteriorating into useless forms.
Martial arts became trash.
Yet, Wang Wiryong never forgot his roots as a descendant of Murim.
His ancestor was from the Heavenly Demon Cult.
They had left behind a drawing of the Heavenly Demon on this very mural, and based on it, Wang Wiryong sought to revive the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.
The Heavenly Demon had once conquered all of Murim.
Whenever Wang Wiryong reflected on those great achievements, he believed that he alone was the hope to reclaim that lost glory.
However, he failed to restore the true martial arts time and time again.
A grim reality lay before him.
Unable to turn a blind eye any longer, Wang Wiryong began to despair, thinking he was no different from the ancestors who had repeatedly failed before him.
Then, the Great Disaster broke out.
During that time, when the world was engulfed in chaos, Wang Wiryong received the memories of a certain being.
Volkan.
A member of Dmitry.
He wasn't a mere common soldier, but he wasn't someone who enjoyed a legendary reputation like the Flash or the Devil of Dmitry, either. Yet, those memories changed Wang Wiryong's life. Volkan's memories contained the 'Asura Mind Method'. It presented a new solution—a path the ancestors of Murim had failed to find. It allowed martial arts to be used even with the polluted energy of the modern era. Armed with this knowledge, Wang Wiryong devoted himself entirely to martial arts for ten years.
Wang Wiryong was an Inheritor.
Normally, an Inheritor's path ended with simply manifesting their inherited memories, but the lingering existence of Murim led Wang Wiryong into a completely different world.
Ten years later, he completed a new Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.
It could not be called the true Heavenly Demon Sword Technique of the past. He had interpreted it in his own way, trying to match the mural as closely as possible. Undeniably, it was a completely different martial art. Nevertheless, he named it the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique out of a burning desire to carry on the legacy of the absolute being who had once conquered Murim.
With this power, he unified China.
Ascending to the imperial throne and gathering the scattered descendants of Murim, Wang Wiryong declared to them:
"Murim, and the Heavenly Demon Cult, shall be reborn through me."
On that day, China went wild.
It was the moment the fallen Murim was resurrected through Wang Wiryong.
* * *
And now.
Wang Wiryong knew instinctively.
Roman Dmitry's martial arts were extraordinary.
Though it was similar yet fundamentally different from what was recorded on the mural, its destructive power was easily on par with his Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.
A complex mix of emotions washed over him.
Just from what he had seen with his own eyes, its level of completion seemed even higher than his own Heavenly Demon Sword Technique.
'It is not certain whether Roman Dmitry is a descendant of Murim. However, the martial arts he uses share a similar context with those of the Heavenly Demon Cult. If Roman Dmitry is a descendant of the Heavenly Demon Cult, or someone who obtained its legacy, I cannot recklessly antagonize him. If he possesses the same conditions as me, he might also share the goal of rebuilding Murim.'
Come to think of it, Roman's path was remarkably similar to his own.
Roman's desire to ascend to the imperial throne—which just a few days ago had infuriated Wang Wiryong, who couldn't believe a mere country like South Korea dared to speak of an emperor—now somehow felt entirely natural. If Roman was a descendant of the Heavenly Demon Cult, ruling as an emperor was a given.
He took a step back.
He chose to wait and see.
He couldn't recklessly initiate a clash and expose his own limits.
Even if the opponent was truly a member of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Wang Wiryong had no intention of meekly surrendering his position.
'The Heavenly Demon Cult is a world where the strong prey on the weak. The strong take everything. If Roman Dmitry is a member of the Heavenly Demon Cult, I will crush him and ascend to the position of the Absolute. If not, I will seize his martial arts to make my Heavenly Demon Sword Technique even more perfect. And if I lose to Roman Dmitry... then, just like those who follow me, I will willingly kneel for the sake of our great shared achievement.'
Therefore, he changed his attitude.
Normally, South Korea changing its official country name to an Empire would be something to be furious about, just as the other nations expected him to be. However, Wang Wiryong judged that he needed to maintain a friendly relationship until he uncovered the truth about Roman Dmitry. Operating under the assumption that they might belong to the same Heavenly Demon Cult, Wang Wiryong ordered his subordinates not to antagonize South Korea.
The International Conference.
The situation had become a mess.
Baffled by China's sudden change of heart, the French President criticized them bitterly.
"To say that punishing South Korea is too harsh! Is that really coming from you, Chairman? Until now, nations that violated international law have faced severe punishment precisely because of the public opinion led by you, Chairman Wang Wiryong! Yet, making an exception only for South Korea is a blatant contradiction. Please explain this in a way that makes sense."
It was exactly as he said.
China had shown a fiercely bellicose attitude until now.
They had always led the charge for international punishments, and more than a few countries had suffered because of them.
Yet, they were suddenly speaking of 'harshness.'
Under the hostile glares of the heads of state, including the French President, Wang Wiryong knew full well that he was being a massive hypocrite.
But what did it matter?
Even if he looked ridiculous to these politicians, other things were far more important to him.
"It is a simple matter," Wang Wiryong replied smoothly. "The reason we are not punishing South Korea is for the sake of humanity. In this chaotic time, when the Great Disaster has only just concluded, I believe there is no need to stir up unnecessary conflict. We must prioritize the peace of the world."
In that instant, the faces of the world leaders crumpled in sheer disbelief.
The French President, in particular, blurted out his true thoughts without any filter.
"Wait, coming from a Chairman who has been spouting nonsense about 'continental conquest' and whatnot all this time, shouldn't you be the last person on earth to say that?"
The assembly truly looked at Wang Wiryong as if he had completely lost his mind.