Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: A Weak, Trash Body
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The Heavenly Demon glanced around at the carnage he had wrought.
The area was awash with blood and corpses.
It was a place that perfectly suited his final moments.
He had lived a life defined solely by blood and death. What place could be more fitting for him to die?
“It’s about time I departed.”
The Heavenly Demon knew he would soon die.
It was a side effect of the demonic art he had mastered, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
This was a demonic art passed down through generations of Heavenly Demons. It granted power greater than any other, but in the end, the body could not withstand the force it absorbed and would explode, leading to death.
Every Heavenly Demon in history had believed they could overcome it.
He had been no different.
But none had ever succeeded, and he was no exception.
*Vwooom!*
An immense power surged from his dantian. It coursed through his limbs and meridians, infusing and compressing a tremendous energy throughout his body.
His consciousness began to fade.
This was not a power a human could endure.
It felt as though his very soul was being ripped to shreds. Having built his power by absorbing the souls of others, was it not natural for his own soul to be destroyed?
In the moment of death, black chains that seemed forged from shadows shot up from the ground.
Hundreds of chains wrapped tightly around the Heavenly Demon’s body.
“Are you trying to drag me to hell?”
He could have simply allowed himself to be taken, but he was the Heavenly Demon.
“Who dares to compel me!”
With the power overflowing in his body, he seized all the shadow chains binding him.
“Kuaaargh!”
*CRACK!*
As he pulled on the shadow chains, they were dragged out with a deafening roar.
Attached to the ends of the chains were beings made of pure black shadow.
If grim reapers existed, they would surely look just like this.
“Hahahaha! I’d rather walk there myself! Be it hell or a lake of fire!”
Power exploded from the Heavenly Demon’s body, sweeping away the grim reapers that had all but surrounded him.
With that final act, the Heavenly Demon’s soul was torn to pieces and scattered. An immense pain washed over him.
In that last moment of agony, the Heavenly Demon attained a faint enlightenment.
*‘Ah… so that wasn’t it. The Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts weren’t just about coveting the souls of others!’*
He had found a clue to truly mastering the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts, but it was too late.
The Heavenly Demon’s consciousness dissipated.
*‘In my next life, I wish to live the opposite. Peacefully and quietly…'*
With that final thought, the Heavenly Demon’s soul was extinguished.
* * *
“Young Master! You’re here again? The meal is ready.”
The Heavenly Demon was sitting by a pond, staring blankly at his reflection in the water.
He had been coming here and doing this for ten days straight.
It hadn’t taken him long to accept reality. Not even a full day.
He was a man who had drenched the world in blood and fear.
And he had clawed his way through an unimaginable hell of suffering and cruelty to become so.
Thus, he was well-versed in grasping, adapting to, and overcoming any situation.
But even for the Heavenly Demon, this was not easy to accept.
The Heavenly Demon quietly studied his reflection in the water.
Was he even twenty? The face staring back at him lacked even a hint of manliness.
‘To think that’s me.’
He was certain he had died, but when he awoke, he was lying there with that face.
“Young Master, the food is getting cold. We must hurry.”
And the maidservant who had woken him was now at his side, speaking to him as she approached with hurried steps.
The thought that a mere maidservant would dare use such a tone with her master made him want to snap her neck in an instant, but he couldn’t.
“This body is disgustingly weak, like trash.”
At the Heavenly Demon’s mutter, the maidservant quickly spoke.
“Young Master, please don’t say such things! You’ll get better soon, I promise! The best doctor will be here shortly. Have you heard of the Divine Doctor of the Ages? They say he has agreed to come this time.”
The Heavenly Demon scoffed.
“What can a doctor I’ve never even heard of possibly fix?”
“Young Master, you mustn’t speak like that. How many times have I told you? You have to think good thoughts and say good things for good things to happen.”
The Heavenly Demon smirked and rose from his seat.
“Why don’t you come back and say that when you’re about twenty years older.”
“Oh, are you really going to keep this up?”
The Heavenly Demon didn’t reply and began walking with long strides.
For the past ten days, the Heavenly Demon had been focused on understanding the owner of this body.
First, the name was Byeok Taesan. He lived at the Golden Jade Trading Company, one of the foremost merchant groups in Wuhan.
He had no parents, only an older brother who was the master of the Golden Jade Trading Company.
And Byeok Taesan’s health was truly poor.
He suffered from a very peculiar case of severed meridians, and from the way things looked, it seemed no doctor had even been able to properly diagnose his condition yet.
But the Heavenly Demon knew the state of his own body more accurately than anyone.
First, because his meridians were severed, it was impossible for him to practice martial arts.
The only possibility was the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
As he walked, the Heavenly Demon repeated his name, Byeok Taesan, in his mind.
He had felt it from the moment he first heard the name, but it truly rolled off the tongue.
As if it were his real name.
He reflexively tried to recall his original name, but absurdly, he couldn’t remember it.
He remembered everything from his past, yet the one thing he couldn’t recall was his own name.
‘It has been quite a while since my name was spoken…’
There really had been no occasion for it. His subordinates called him Lord or Master, his enemies called him the Heavenly Demon, and he referred to himself as ‘this seat’.
Still, to forget one’s own name—did that even make sense?
But the impossible had happened. It had reached the point where he even wondered if his original name had been Byeok Taesan all along.
‘What does my original name matter at this point, anyway?’
What mattered was that he was still alive, and if he remained as he was, he would die again.
‘So first, I must live.’
And for that, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts were the answer.
He could practice martial arts by using the power of souls as a temporary measure to connect his severed meridians.
By repeating this process, the meridians would naturally reconnect.
‘But to do that, I need souls…’
The best were the souls of the living.
In the past, he used to kill people and immediately extract their souls, but through the enlightenment he gained at death, he realized that was not the right way.
‘Let’s take the easy path for now.’
If his body were in better condition, he would have chosen a more efficient method, but he had no choice now.
“Soso, I’d like to go out today.”
“Oh? Really? Where are you going?”
“You don’t need to know. Bring me a servant who can guide me, not you.”
Soso replied with a bright smile.
“I know the way well, too. Where are you going? You can assume there’s no place in all of Wuhan that I don’t know. So, where shall I take you? Oh, would you like to dine out today? I recently found a fantastic restaurant.”
She didn’t need to add that she wanted to get a taste for herself as well.
Soso smiled pleasantly as she looked at Byeok Taesan.
Byeok Taesan smirked and replied.
“Well, does it matter? I’m planning to go to a decent courtesan house, so get ready.”
Soso’s eyes widened like saucers.
“What? A c-c-c-courtesan house?”
She finally understood why Byeok Taesan had specifically asked for another servant.
“Ah, w-well, in that case, rather than me… Ah! When you go out, Warrior Cheon will accompany you as a guard, so the two of you can go.”
As she said this, Soso’s lips jutted out in a pout.
“Y-Young Master, you’ve never done this before…”
“If you feel wronged, you can come along.”
“I’m not going! Hmph! I’m going to tell Young Lady Yeon everything!”
“Go ahead.”
The Young Lady Yeon Soso mentioned was Yeon Harin, Byeok Taesan’s fiancée.
They had been betrothed before birth, but frankly, the Heavenly Demon couldn’t care less. He had never even seen her face.
He did know, however, that the original owner of this body had also treated his fiancée with extreme coldness and cynicism.
According to the information he got from Soso, she was the greatest beauty in Wuhan, but the Heavenly Demon didn’t trust that information.
It was rare for a woman praised as beautiful by another woman to actually be beautiful.
Soso looked at Byeok Taesan with a sorrowful expression.
“Young Master, please don’t torment yourself so much. Can’t you hold on to hope, at least until the Divine Doctor of the Ages has properly examined you?”
The Heavenly Demon, Byeok Taesan, glanced at Soso with a look of curiosity.
The words and attitude Soso was showing now were clearly genuine.
He had met countless people who wore masks when dealing with him. Thus, he was an expert at discerning whether their words and attitudes were sincere.
There was no way a simple, naive maidservant could deceive the Heavenly Demon’s discerning eye.
‘This guy was a lucky bastard. How irritating.’
Byeok Taesan smirked and quickened his pace.
* * *
As the sun began to set, Byeok Taesan prepared to go out.
Soso adjusted Byeok Taesan’s clothes. Her expression was incredibly complex.
“Aren’t these clothes a bit too extravagant for just going to a courtesan house?”
“Extravagant? Not at all. In places like that, you have to go showing off that you have money to be treated well.”
“You talk a good game for someone who’s never been.”
“Do I have to go to know? You have no idea how much I’ve heard.”
“By the way, why is there no sign of the escort warrior who was supposed to come?”
“He’ll be here right on time. Besides guarding you, Young Master, all he does is train, you know.”
Byeok Taesan’s escort, Cheon Gyeongwan, was a warrior belonging to a group called the Sword Dragon Unit.
The Sword Dragon Unit was an organization fostered for the sole purpose of stepping in only when the Golden Jade Trading Company faced a major crisis.
All they did was train.
Only Cheon Gyeongwan from the Sword Dragon Unit was assigned to guard Byeok Taesan.
The Golden Jade Trading Company had countless other warrior organizations besides the Sword Dragon Unit.
Of course, their skills were somewhat lacking compared to the warriors of prestigious families, but they were incomparably superior to the forces held by other merchant groups.
“Looks like he’s here.”
At Byeok Taesan’s words, Soso looked puzzled. But she was startled by the voice she soon heard from outside.
“Young Master, you may leave now.”
Soso looked at Byeok Taesan with wide eyes and asked.
“How did you know?”
Instead of answering, Byeok Taesan smirked, opened the door, and went outside.
‘How could I not know when he’s radiating his presence like that?’
Byeok Taesan glanced at Cheon Gyeongwan standing outside.
The man was like a single-edged sword.
His aura was exactly that. It exuded an atmosphere that was sharpened and honed to the point where it seemed it could slice through anything.
‘Not bad.’
Curiosity flickered in Byeok Taesan’s eyes.
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The Heavenly Demon, at the courtesan house…
By Byeok Taesan’s standards—that is, the Heavenly Demon’s standards—Cheon Gyeongwan was a fairly capable warrior.
‘The Sword Dragon Unit, was it?’
Cheon Gyeongwan was not the leader, deputy leader, or even a squad captain of the Sword Dragon Unit, but merely a rank-and-file member.
But if he was at this level, how skilled was the leader of the Sword Dragon Unit?
In Byeok Taesan’s view, someone of Cheon Gyeongwan’s caliber could easily face the leader of a prestigious family, the kind he had fought countless times before.
Although his severed meridians prevented him from accumulating or circulating internal energy, and his senses had dulled considerably, the traces etched into his soul by the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts did not fade so easily.
That alone was enough to gauge Cheon Gyeongwan’s level.
‘The Golden Jade Trading Company, was it? These guys might not be ordinary.’
Moreover, although Byeok Taesan was the younger brother of the company’s master, he was not a key figure.
If you were to rank the key figures in the company, he would barely make it into the seventieth position.
Furthermore, the relationship between Byeok Taesan and his brother, Byeok Taesu, was extremely distant.
Byeok Taesu’s wife and her family also saw Byeok Taesan as a thorn in their side.
To assign a warrior of this caliber to guard such a person suggested that the military power possessed by the Golden Jade Trading Company might be beyond imagination.
In any case, it wasn’t a bad thing.
“Let’s go.”
As soon as Byeok Taesan spoke, Cheon Gyeongwan took the lead.
He had already been informed of their destination for the day.
Cheon Gyeongwan walked with long strides, his expressionless face revealing none of his inner thoughts.
Byeok Taesan watched him with a peculiar gaze as he slowly followed behind.
And Soso watched the two of them until they were out of sight, her gaze a mixture of worry and pity.
* * *
Cheon Gyeongwan led Byeok Taesan to the Fragrant Flower Pavilion.
It was one of the top three courtesan houses in Wuhan, but it was also one not owned by the Golden Jade Trading Company.
This was one of the conditions Byeok Taesan had initially requested, and Cheon Gyeongwan faithfully followed his wishes.
Upon entering the courtesan house, a crowd of courtesans rushed over.
Having received word in advance, their eyes were all sparkling.
At least in Wuhan, the status of the Golden Jade Trading Company surpassed that of most prestigious families.
“Young Master, I will wait here.”
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“This is outside the courtesan house. Why wait here?”
“Well… in case something happens…”
“So, are you confident you can reach me before that ‘something’ is over?”
Cheon Gyeongwan did not answer. In truth, there was likely no one in Wuhan audacious enough to touch someone from the Golden Jade Trading Company, but he still couldn't give a definite answer to such a question.
“So stop talking nonsense and follow me. Honestly, I’d like for us to have fun together, but since that’s a bit difficult, you can enjoy yourself in the room next to mine.”
“I cannot do that.”
Cheon Gyeongwan said with an emotionless expression and tone.
“What can’t you do? Come to the room next to mine? Or enjoy yourself? Or is it that you can’t listen to my command?”
Cheon Gyeongwan’s expression momentarily hardened before smoothing out again.
It was the first time his usually perfect composure had failed him.
Byeok Taesan patted Cheon Gyeongwan’s shoulder.
“It would be nice if you could protect me while enjoying yourself… but if you can’t, at least stay close.”
Byeok Taesan left him with those words and swiftly went inside.
As if he didn’t care whether Cheon Gyeongwan followed or not.
Cheon Gyeongwan stared at Byeok Taesan’s back for a long time with an impassive gaze.
* * *
In a large, ornate room, a table was lavishly spread with an abundance of alcohol and dishes.
And no fewer than ten courtesans entered in a group, taking their seats around Byeok Taesan.
“Well then, shall we have some fun?”
Honestly, even when he lived as the Heavenly Demon, he had only visited a courtesan house a handful of times.
There had been no reason to seek one out.
His last memory of visiting one was a full twenty years ago.
So, from Byeok Taesan’s perspective, today’s experience was something to look forward to and enjoy.
Byeok Taesan asked the courtesan sitting next to him.
“What about the guard who came with me earlier?”
“He’s standing at the entrance to the stairs on this floor, blocking the way.”
“So inflexible.”
Byeok Taesan said with a smirk as he lifted his cup.
He didn’t feel bad. Cheon Gyeongwan’s attitude resembled that of the members of his former personal guard, the Heavenly Shadow Guard.
They were men who lacked even a speck of flexibility, thinking only of the safety of their lord, him.
Recalling the old days, Byeok Taesan brought the cup to his lips, then paused and set it back down.
Now was not the time to drink. If he drank in this body, he couldn’t guarantee what would happen next.
Frankly, the fact that he was walking around perfectly fine right now was a miracle in itself.
A miracle created by money.
Byeok Taesan could feel the lingering energy of the elixirs in his body.
He didn’t know for sure, but the amount of elixirs poured into this body could probably raise the level of the entire hundred-man Heavenly Shadow Guard by one stage.
Byeok Taesan glanced around at the courtesans. The corners of his mouth lifted.
‘This is just right.’
For a first attempt, this was perfect.
“Young Master, why aren’t you drinking? Shall I prepare a different kind of alcohol?”
Byeok Taesan shook his head.
“You all drink. My body is not well, so I cannot drink right now.”
He couldn’t drink now, but once his body improved a little, he would drink plenty.
Come to think of it, this was a new opportunity.
In the Heavenly Demon’s body, he couldn’t get drunk at all.
A violent power that he couldn’t even control filled his entire body, so any alcohol that entered would instantly evaporate.
“You’re not drinking… Then what shall we do? Shall I play the zither or show you a light dance?”
Byeok Taesan shook his head again.
One of the reasons he had specifically come to a courtesan house unrelated to the Golden Jade Trading Company was to observe his surroundings from various perspectives.
“Rather than that, let’s just talk for a bit. Do you know who I am?”
“You are the second young master of the Golden Jade Trading Company.”
“The second young master… so that’s what they call me on the outside.”
“If it makes you uncomfortable…”
“It’s fine. I don’t care what others call me. The second young master of the Golden Jade Trading Company is much better than a blood-soaked murderer, isn’t it?”
“Ahahaha! You’re quite the joker. I thought you were just handsome.”
Byeok Taesan frowned.
The thing he disliked most about his new body was his face.
“Hmph, handsome indeed.”
At his words, the courtesan gave a lovely eye-smile and glanced at the other courtesans.
“Look at their expressions. They’re all dying to sit next to you, Young Master.”
“A man’s face should have a manly aspect to it.”
“Oh my? You’re plenty manly. And you also have a side that evokes a protective instinct. I bet there are few women who wouldn’t be swayed by you, Young Master.”
The courtesan’s words were a compliment, but Byeok Taesan was still displeased. Her statement was tantamount to a complete rejection of his past self.
“Enough with the trivial talk about appearances. Talk about something else.”
The courtesan smiled and nodded.
“Then what shall we talk about? All the girls here are not just pretty faces; they’re quite smart, so you’ll find the conversation enjoyable.”
The ten foremost courtesans of the Fragrant Flower Pavilion were present here.
“Is that so? I look forward to it. Then shall we talk about the current state of the martial world?”
The courtesans’ eyes sparkled.
“You’re interested in the martial world?”
“Wuhan is completely under the eyes and ears of the Golden Jade Trading Company, so you probably don’t need information about it… The talk of the Martial Alliance is the hottest topic these days. Shall we start with that?”
“The Martial Alliance is good. Yes, what are those bastards up to these days?”
The courtesans’ expressions became slightly odd.
“Even if no one is listening, if you speak so carelessly, you could get into trouble.”
Byeok Taesan smirked. Who would dare to cause him trouble?
‘Well… in this body, I suppose I should be careful.’
And he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary commotion either.
“Forget it and just talk. What’s going on with the Martial Alliance?”
“It’s chaos. They were fully prepared to fight the Demonic Cult, but the cult has completely sealed itself away.”
“What? The Demonic Cult is hiding?”
Byeok Taesan looked at the courtesan with an incredulous expression, as if he had heard something utterly unbelievable.
“They say it’s completely cut off from the world because the area around the Demonic Cult has been enveloped in a grand formation. A very special formation, I heard?”
“The Profound Heaven Formation?”
“Ah! I think that’s right. It was definitely a formation with a name like that. I heard it’s impossible to dismantle without a key, a sacred artifact.”
“That’s true. Right. There was the Profound Heaven Formation.”
Byeok Taesan nodded as if he finally understood.
The Profound Heaven Formation was a formation with a special activation condition.
Once deployed, it was nearly impossible to enter or leave.
It so thoroughly separated the inside of the formation from the outside that it was close to perfect.
And its activation condition was the death of the cult leader.
The key to deactivating it was also the cult leader.
In other words, the Profound Heaven Formation could not be deactivated until a new cult leader appeared.
And the proof of the cult leader was the Soul-Devouring Demonic Arts.
‘Then… they can’t open the Profound Heaven Formation until I step forward?’
There had been five candidates for the position of cult leader, but Byeok Taesan had killed all five of them before he died.
From Byeok Taesan’s perspective, he had no qualms about it. They had attacked him first, so he had simply killed them.
“So what are they going to do?”
“I don’t know about that. They’ll probably just… strengthen their surveillance and leave it at that.”
“They’ll be fighting amongst themselves soon enough.”
The courtesan did not reply to that, but her expression and gaze showed that she thought the same.
Byeok Taesan looked at the courtesan with new eyes.
He thought her insight and information were quite impressive.
‘Is this level required to be a courtesan in Wuhan?’
Byeok Taesan looked at the courtesan with a peculiar gaze and asked.
“Alright. This time, tell me about myself.”
“Pardon?”
“Tell me everything you know about the second young master of the Golden Jade Trading Company.”
A sense of tension filled the courtesans’ expressions.
Byeok Taesan smirked at the sight.
“I promise that whatever is said in this room, there will be absolutely no repercussions. You can curse me. You can criticize me for being ugly.”
For some reason, the last part seemed to carry more sincerity.
Of course, the courtesans still couldn’t easily open their mouths. If he changed his mind and caused a scene, they would be the ones to bear all the responsibility.
“Each of you, one by one, must say one thing. You, start.”
Byeok Taesan said, looking at the courtesan closest to him.
The courtesan looked troubled. But soon, with a look of resignation, she opened her mouth.
“Well…”
Telling them to speak one by one was effective.
Under the pressure of having to say something about Byeok Taesan, the courtesans wracked their brains and brought up rumors related to him one by one.
This was information he could never have gotten from Soso.
Of course, he didn’t accept all of it as truth.
He organized it in his head, analyzed it against the context and the information he currently had, and selected only what he deemed plausible.
Among the information he obtained, the most absurd was that Byeok Taesan’s remaining assets consisted of only a thousand gold taels, a small estate, and a few courtesan houses and taverns.
If Byeok Taesan ever wanted to become independent, that was all he could receive.
This was a condition set by his father when Byeok Taesan’s older brother, Byeok Taesu, inherited the company, in order to prevent unnecessary disputes.
And at the time the will was made, Byeok Taesan’s health was so poor that no one objected to it.
It was the same now.
This rumor was so famous in Wuhan that there was no one who didn’t know it.
Only Byeok Taesan was hearing it for the first time now.
Although the original owner of the body must have known.
In any case, after acquiring a few more new pieces of information, Byeok Taesan looked at the courtesan sitting next to him and said.
“Now, it’s about time we went to bed.”
Byeok Taesan glanced at the remaining courtesans and continued.
“It would be too much for me to handle all of you… I think just one of you will be enough.”
As he spoke, Byeok Taesan took out small pieces of gold from his sleeve and tossed them to the courtesans.
The courtesans, with joyful expressions, accepted them, quickly bowed, and left the room.
Once the two were alone, Byeok Taesan looked at the courtesan sitting next to him with eyes full of anticipation.
He then moved to the bed.
“Well then, shall we have some fun?”
As he said this, Byeok Taesan placed his palm on the crown of the courtesan’s head.
The courtesan looked at Byeok Taesan with puzzled eyes.
Byeok Taesan grinned and swiftly pulled the soul out from her Baihui acupoint.