Episode 236. Change (1)

Four days had passed since the Heavenly Demon left. Unsurprisingly, the Black Lotus Sect was in shock.

The reason they were able to unite at all was ultimately because of the Sect Master. One by one, people had gathered, drawn by his capability and strength.

But that very Sect Master had been thoroughly defeated by the Heavenly Demon.

Naturally, this led to internal chaos and distrust.

And soon, this would spread throughout the entire Murim.

It was one thing for Seo Mun-Hwarin, who didn’t belong to any particular faction, but even the Sword King—head of the Namgung Clan and one of the righteous faction’s pillars—had effectively lost to the Heavenly Demon.

Even more so, the three of them had attacked together, yet failed to land a single decisive blow.

This wasn’t a rumor that could be contained, no matter how hard one tried.

Sigh.

I had hoped to warn others in advance about the threat of the Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Demon’s strength…but not like this.

As I sat letting out deep sighs, Tang Sowol quietly approached, sat beside me, and patted my shoulder.

“Are you all right? You should still be lying down…”

“Don’t worry. I’m a bit tired, but it’s not that bad.”

Tang Sowol was right. I wasn’t in a normal state.

I had forcefully drawn upon my willpower, driven my inner energy to near rampage, and even mimicked and fused another’s ultimate techniques.

Thanks to my reborn body, now as strong as if it had been reborn from the bones up, only a few meridians had been strained, and they’d already mostly healed.

But the real problem was with my willpower.

Unlike inner energy, which had a measurable amount stored in the dantian, willpower relied on focus, clarity of intent, and a bit of sincerity—something that seemed to rise from nowhere as long as those were present. I had assumed the only limit was familiarity.

Apparently, that familiarity was my limit.

Though the headache had subsided after several days of rest, my mind still felt foggy.

Still, I was recovering, albeit slowly. Given time, I should be fine.

And more importantly, once fully recovered, I should be able to handle even more willpower than before.

“That sigh just now wasn’t from pain—it came from the overwhelming frustration I felt as I replayed the last battle.”

“Ah…”

Even now, the Heavenly Demon was strong. Far too strong.

It hadn’t even been five years since he’d reached the Extreme Demon Realm, yet he had attained such martial prowess.

I now understood the true nature of the massive demon figure that had blanketed the sky in the final moment before my regression.

It was the aura born of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. The overwhelming image of that demonic figure had become so enormous that it darkened the sky itself.

Was that truly a level of martial strength a human could achieve? Could a single person truly contain such inner energy, and condense it all into sword aura?

While resting, I kept questioning the Heavenly Demon’s strength—but now I thought I might have the answer.

I could be wrong… but it’s highly likely the Heavenly Demon had experienced regression like I had—or something similar.

In the worst case, it may not have been just once or twice.

Thinking along those lines, everything started to make sense.

His overwhelming martial strength?

Just as I was able to rapidly regain my strength up to Sub-Perfection Mastery thanks to my memories, the Heavenly Demon likely recovered his former skills and pushed even further.

The intricate schemes of the Demonic Cult, deeply rooted throughout the Central Plains?

Would someone locked away in Xinjiang Province have access to such information and be able to deploy flawless plans without detection? He probably already knew the answers from experience.

His ability to absorb unknown martial arts at first glance and improve upon them?

Sure, talent played a role—but not even a Heavenly Martial Body could perform such feats without prior knowledge.

But if it wasn’t his first time seeing them—if he had studied and practiced them before, only to reveal them slowly to avoid suspicion—then everything became plausible.

And then, the final message he left me before departing:

—Heaven no longer watches over us, yet their gifts and chains remain.

—Sword Ghost. You and I are not so different.

A whisper heard only by me. At first, it sounded like vague nonsense, but I knew better.

If someone wanted to pass on a message without triggering a mental restriction, they had to speak like that.

Even someone like the Heavenly Demon couldn’t escape such restrictions. That in itself was shocking—but if I considered who he referred to as “heaven,” it became understandable.

Combining what I’d heard at Shaolin and what I learned at Zhongnan Mountain, I could deduce that regression-like phenomena had occurred in the past, though rarely. And while no one spoke of it openly, there were those who knew it existed.

At the time, I thought it was caused by the power left behind by immortals or a ritual by skilled Taoists and sorcerers.

But the Heavenly Demon had directly referred to “heaven,” confirming it.

So it really was the power left behind by divine beings, like immortals or Buddhas.

The problem was, according to the Heavenly Demon, those beings no longer watched over this world—but their gifts and constraints still remained.

In other words, no one could lift the mental restriction placed on me.

If not even the Heavenly Demon could break it, then it surely wasn’t a restriction that could be lifted by sheer strength.

As if the Heavenly Demon’s overwhelming strength wasn’t enough of a headache—now I had to consider the possibility that he was also a regressor, and that the restriction might never be broken.

Haaa…

“You say you’re not in pain, but you certainly look tired,” Tang Sowol murmured.

“Am I sighing too much in front of you, Tang Sowol?”

“Fufu. It’s all right to show weakness in front of me. In fact, I prefer it. It’s a side of you that only I get to see.”

“I’d rather only show you my cool side.”

“Oh my, you really don’t get it. I do like the dashing version of Young Master Cheon, but…I like it even more when you show me this cute side of yours.”

“Cute…?”

It wasn’t the first time Tang Sowol had called me cute, but no matter how many times I heard it, it still felt strange.

As I stared at her with a dazed expression, she covered her mouth with her sleeve and giggled.

“This whole incident isn’t just some minor affair. The fact that such a monstrous martial artist was hidden within the Demonic Cult, desperate to devour Murim… The mysterious connection between you and the Heavenly Demon… The disgrace the orthodox factions suffered—all of it is a big deal.”

“You’re right. Things are going to get noisy for a while.”

“But that’s not what’s really weighing on your mind right now, is it? You’re overwhelmed by how vast the gap still is between you and the Heavenly Demon—and how far you have left to go.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s okay. From where I stand, you’re already quite formidable. Even if it’s hard now, with time, I know you’ll become even stronger. So I’m not all that worried.”

That unwavering confidence left me speechless.

But then her next words made me tilt my head.

“That’s why I can’t help but find you adorable when you’re moping around like this. If I only get to see this side of you now, I’ll make sure to take it in until I’m sick of it.”

“I wasn’t moping…”

All I’d done was stare blankly at the sky and sigh a few times.

This slander was as natural as breathing. I tugged and stretched her cheek in retaliation.

“Heehee. You can keep doing that if you want,” she said, offering the other cheek with a grin.

In the end, I gave up and squished both cheeks before finally getting up. No matter how many times it happens, I can never win against Tang Sowol in this kind of thing.

As I stood and stretched my stiff body, Tang Sowol, still rubbing her cheek, asked,

“Fufu. Feeling a little better now? Are you headed to the training hall?”

“I should. I still need to wrap things up with the Sect Master and the Sword King, but… they both seem tied up handling the aftermath, so I might be here a bit longer. I can’t just lie around the whole time.”

“True. We just need to send word to Father, but those two are in positions of responsibility, so they’ll have to make decisions right away.”

She was right. While I could rest as soon as I recovered, the Sect Master and Namgung Dowi had to figure out how to lead the Black Lotus Sect and the Namgung Clan after facing a monster like the Heavenly Demon.

As I nodded inwardly, Tang Sowol stood up and helped straighten my clothes, her voice soft.

“This time, I only watched as you and Sister Hwarin fought… but next time will be different.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. Actually, I didn’t just sit there last time. I secretly tried releasing various poisons… but I got caught every time, and the poison just burned away in the aura.”

“That was dangerous.”

“Well, just being there was dangerous, wasn’t it? Just because the enemy was stronger than me doesn’t mean I could just sit back and watch.”

That’s not true. Most martial artists could do nothing but watch.

More accurately, they had no choice. Any attempt to act was crushed by the Heavenly Demon’s pressure—or the overwhelming weight of his Heavenly Demon Ruler’s Steps.

It wasn’t that they didn’t do anything. They simply couldn’t.

At least Tang Sowol didn’t need to engage in close combat. As a poison user, she had options.

Satisfied with straightening my clothes, Tang Sowol tapped her hand against my clavicle with pride.

“Demonic energy is such a peculiar force. Especially when used as sword aura. That’s why I’ve been researching a poison that can disperse it—something like a dispersal poison cloud.”

“Huh?”

“From what I saw, he’s a close-combat powerhouse, yes—but his true specialty is sword aura. If we can scatter that demonic energy, he’ll be much easier to fight.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“My poison now is based on the one I reverse-engineered from the Poison Demon’s venom—the one that could poison even Flowering Stage masters. It should work to some extent on the Heavenly Demon, too. Though of course, I can’t defeat him alone. I’ll still need your help.”

“I know that well.”

Before regression, Tang Sowol had survived until the very end and even stood against the Heavenly Demon.

Her poison was effective even against someone of his transcendent martial prowess. That’s why, even as others fell on the battlefield, Tang Sowol had been kept alive long enough to escape.

In fact, in that final moment, the Heavenly Demon’s hand had burned from her will-infused poison.

Perhaps that’s why the Demonic Cult had tried so hard to kill her—because her poison worked on the Heavenly Demon himself.

Despite her cheerful smile, I could now see the fire burning deep in her jade-green eyes.

I couldn’t help but let out a faint laugh and nod.

“I believe in you, Tang Sowol—just as you believe in me.”

“Oh my, such sweet words out of nowhere. You say you’re heading to the training hall, but are you trying to seduce me instead?”

“What the…”

“Too late! I’ve already fallen for you completely, so it won’t work anymore!”

Beaming like a fool, Tang Sowol gave my cheeks a playful squeeze as if to return the favor.

“Ah, and when you’re done at the training hall, would you mind visiting Sister Hwarin?”

“Huh?”

“She seems really shaken up. I think your presence would help more than mine.”

“I’m not really good at comforting people.”

“Just sitting beside her will be enough.”

With that, she began patting my back, gently urging me forward.

“Go on now, Young Master Cheon. For the peace of the household.”

“…”

I flinched at the unexpected choice of words.

But with her persistent pats on my back, I had no choice but to leave—without asking what she meant by “peace of the household.”

…Seriously, what did she mean?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep