The Heavenly Demon Enters the Fray (3)

The final opponent was someone Do-hyun knew. A close younger sibling who had crushed him in multiple tournaments. Gwon-jon, the Whip Master user, stood before him.

Gwon-jon broke into his usual easygoing chatter the moment he spotted Do-hyun.

“Hyung. You’ve been grinding hard lately. Your rank’s shot up a ton.”

“If I beat you right now, it’s the pro league.”

“For real?!”

The map was the Temple.

Gwon-jon was a monster who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Apis pros in a straight fight. Meeting him on a map with zero variables was practically a disaster.

“You’re not planning to go easy, right?”

More than anything, Do-hyun had always been weak against Gwon-jon. Whether in tournaments or ranked games, the number of times he’d beaten him could be counted on one hand.

“Hyung, can’t you tell I came here just to see you? One more loss and I’m getting demoted.”

At Gwon-jon’s words—that he had nowhere left to retreat—Do-hyun couldn’t help but laugh.

“Got it.”

Normally, Do-hyun would have resigned himself the moment he saw Gwon-jon’s face. But today was different. For some reason, Gwon-jon looked smaller than usual.

Maybe I can do this today.

With all the insights he’d gained, the pressure was gone. Even if he lost, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could just climb back up. This wasn’t his only chance. What he’d obtained wasn’t fleeting knowledge that would evaporate in a few days—it was something etched into his body, something that would stay with him for life.

The moment the game began, Gwon-jon charged forward like a madman. He intended to close the distance before the whip could even move and smash Do-hyun to pieces.

In the past, Do-hyun would have been helpless against that approach. But today was different.

Do-hyun swung his whip right in front of the charging Gwon-jon. The floor shattered on impact, sending fist-sized chunks of stone flying. Gwon-jon’s momentum faltered for an instant after being struck by the debris. The cavalry named Gwon-jon had lost its acceleration.

Now it was Do-hyun’s turn.

As he moved his hand, the whip lashed toward Gwon-jon’s head. But Gwon-jon refused to trust his own eyes. A Whip Master’s whip was like a snake—not just in movement, but in its sly, deceitful nature. He couldn’t believe what he saw. An attack could come from anywhere at any time. He had to stay on edge.

Where? Where will it come from?

Knowing hyung’s usual style, he should go for the legs, but something feels different today.

It’s a shame to give up the distance I worked so hard to close, but maybe I should back off for now. Let’s play it safe and see how things develop.

The instant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Gwon-jon resolved to retreat and moved his foot backward, something caught his ankle.

It was Do-hyun’s whip.

“Shit!”

The whip yanked, throwing off his center of gravity. Gwon-jon’s reflexes were excellent, but reacting to an attack he hadn’t anticipated at all was impossible. He crashed to the floor.

Thud.

The moment he felt the impact on his back, Gwon-jon rolled away. A whip slammed down exactly where he had been lying. Hearing the sound of the whip he’d just dodged, he felt a sense of déjà vu.

That sound was different from the whip Do-hyun usually swung. The one he’d used before had been threatening, but not enough to send chills down your spine. But now?

Gwon-jon couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen if that whip landed even once.

Where have I seen this before? I definitely have. And recently, too.

Ah.

“Hyung, are you copying Hwa-ryeong?”

“Not Hwa-ryeong. It’s Hwa-ryeong-nim.”

“Ha. Damn. You’ve gone full demonic cultist, huh?!”

That video really was something else. So that’s why hyung’s skills jumped so much—he must’ve gained some kind of enlightenment from watching it.

“Not coming?”

“I’m coming. Right now.”

As Gwon-jon fought Do-hyun, he realized just how much his opponent had changed. The lighter footwork. The explosive whip strikes that came from the slightest gesture. The relentless moves that blocked every intention. Against this transformed Do-hyun, Gwon-jon was utterly powerless.

Do-hyun stared blankly at the message floating before him. He couldn’t believe it. Reaching the pro league felt like a dream.

As reality slowly sank in, Do-hyun smiled. Then tears welled up. He dropped to his knees and roared loud enough to shake the Temple, announcing to the world that he had finally achieved a goal he’d chased for years.

Gwon-jon, who knew exactly how much Do-hyun had struggled, stood quietly beside him and watched the celebration.

In a way, it was like mocking Gwon-jon for dropping out of the pro league, but he didn’t mind. It was finally hyung’s turn to be rewarded. Besides, he could always return the favor by knocking him down himself next time.

After thrashing about for a while, embarrassment eventually caught up with Do-hyun. He scrambled to his feet and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Instead of teasing him, Gwon-jon handled it maturely. He changed the subject to spare Do-hyun the shame of showing such an embarrassing side to someone he knew.

“Hyung, you’re entering the tournament Deca’s hosting, right?”

The reason for this consideration was simple: he had recorded every second of Do-hyun’s earlier outburst and planned to use the footage to tease him for a long, long time.

“The Heavenly Martial Arts Tournament? Of course I’m going. I always enter and get eliminated in the first round anyway.”

Do-hyun, unaware of Gwon-jon’s true intentions, gladly played along with the change of topic.

“I heard Hwa-ryeong-nim is participating too.”

Hwa-ryeong-nim?

Do-hyun immediately opened a browser and checked the participant list. There it was, at the very bottom—the name Hwa-ryeong.

Does that mean I’ll get to show my whip techniques in front of Hwa-ryeong-nim?

“I need to train hard.”

Do-hyun made a plan. He would display his whip in front of Hwa-ryeong and express his gratitude. Whether she acknowledged him or not didn’t matter. He simply wanted to bow his head to the person who had granted him a miracle.

If he could tell her that she was like a god to him, that would be enough. Being recognized would be nice, of course, but it wasn’t necessary.

It was already 4 a.m. Do-hyun had work tomorrow, so he should have gone to sleep. Instead, he queued up for another ranked game. He wanted to improve even a little more.

*

When Ha-rin returned after a week, she had grown beyond comparison. Most encouraging of all was how accustomed she had become to following the principles of martial arts. She was no longer merely imitating movements—she was learning to create her own martial arts with her own power.

“You still have a long way to go, but if you continue like this, you’ll achieve results before long.”

“How long is ‘before long,’ exactly?”

“Months? Of course I mean years.”

When I answered, Ha-rin asked again as if she’d misheard. So I kindly repeated the same answer. Even at the shortest estimate, it would take several years to see the light. This was already a generous estimate considering her special circumstances.

Ha-rin didn’t need to accumulate internal energy. After all, she was only borrowing another martial artist’s body. What she needed was pure enlightenment. She could skip the steps ordinary martial artists had to go through. That was why it would take years. If Ha-rin had been an ordinary child from the murim, I would have said at least several decades.

“Martial arts are slow by nature. Because they are slow, they accumulate steadily, layer by layer.”

To escape this slow path, one must pay a corresponding price. Usually, that price was ruin. If this were the murim, I wouldn’t have stopped her from choosing the unorthodox path to gain power. But Ha-rin, you are a modern child who practices martial arts only as a hobby. There’s no need to devote your entire life to it, is there?

“S-still, that doesn’t mean I’ll be stuck in the same place for years, right?”

“Of course not. I’m simply saying the process will be slow and tedious.”

“That’s good enough for me!”

Yes. Her positivity was quite pleasing to see.

Now then, since I’ve confirmed your progress, shall we begin the lesson? I saw your desire to improve earlier, so I trust you’ll respond diligently to my teachings.

“It’s not going to be scary like last time, right?”

“Ha-rin. Do you think I would repeat the same mistake twice?”

Hmph. What do you take this body for?

“Not really, but…”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been teaching others and getting a feel for it.”

While teaching Enri last time, I roughly figured out how to handle modern children. I’ll use the same method. However, Ha-rin, you are far more advanced than Enri, who knew nothing about martial arts. So I’ll push you several times harder than I did with her.

What? Don’t worry. If you faint, I’ll kindly wake you up.

Seeing my smile, Ha-rin forced an awkward laugh as well.

After rolling her around for several hours, Ha-rin was exhausted and stared blankly into space. With all strength drained from her limbs, she looked almost like a wooden puppet.

This level should be appropriate going forward. She did complain and whine in between, but those receiving instruction usually grumble. A teacher must not listen to such complaints. Everything must be decided by one’s own judgment.

“Um… Hwa-ryeong-nim.”

“What is it?”

“Enri-nim got a reward for doing this, right? Don’t I get anything?”

A reward? What nonsense is that? How could you possibly be in the same situation as Enri? I was harsh on Enri because she wasn’t a martial artist, so I felt I owed her something. But you claim to be a martial artist yourself. You should know the value of my teachings, yet you say such things.

“It was a joke. Don’t look ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so serious.”

Don’t lie. Do you think I wouldn’t know you were serious? Since you withdrew quickly, I won’t press further, but Ha-rin, you need to show me more respect.

When my expression didn’t soften, Ha-rin forced another awkward smile and changed the subject. It was obvious she was trying to lighten the mood, but the effort was commendable, so I let it pass. There was no point in continuing the conversation in awkward silence anyway.

“I heard you’re also participating in the tournament, Hwa-ryeong-nim?”

“You mean the one Deca is hosting? Yes, I’ve decided to enter.”

Money aside, the VR capsule was simply too tempting. Upon looking into it, I discovered that Deca’s tournament prize was one of the high-end VR capsules. Being able to obtain something that would normally take months to receive even if you wanted to buy it—that was reason enough for me to participate.

“I’m participating too.”

“You as well?”

“I might look like a newborn to you, Hwa-ryeong-nim, but I’m actually a pretty well-known user, you know?”

Thinking back, Ha-rin was famous enough that Enri recognized her name immediately. On top of that, she had the skill to stand at the same level as Deca and was making a name for herself in other games as well, so there was nothing strange about her entering the tournament. It didn’t sit well with me that this child, who still had a long way to go, was being called a master, but reality was what it was.

“Does that mean the other participants are at a similar level to you?”

“No. Most of them are better than me. If we played ten matches, I’d barely win three or four.”

So even those “better” than you are only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one or two moves ahead. For something called the Heavenly Martial Arts Tournament, aren’t the participants rather weak?