Chapter 143. Trying to Row a Boat On Land (14)

Her senior brother Woo-Moon had been all but subjected to death by a thousand cuts while fighting for her sake.

In her last moments, her body had been almost destroyed by the Forgetful King’s qi, and she had been unable to move.

However, she could still see.

She could see as rocks fell on Woo-Moon’s head, yet she was unable to do anything but watch due to her injuries.

‘Senior brother... he died... because of me...’

When time came for a Heavenly Demon to die, they would pass on the culmination of all of their and the past Heavenly Demon’s memories and comprehension of the techniques of the Heavenly Demon Cult to their selected successor.

However, the previous Heavenly Demon, the Dominating Fist Heavenly Demon, had been unable to find a successor or pass the culmination of the Heavenly Demon Legacy before he was killed—standing alone, surrounded by the high-level masters of Martial Heaven.

It was in that calamity where the lineage of the Heavenly Demon was almost cut off. Fortunately, the Dominating Fist Heavenly Demon realized that he was about to die; thus, he condensed all of his qi and memories and created the Heavenly Demon Egg. Gathering all of the remnant power within his being, he hurled the Heavenly Demon Egg into the sky and out of the hands of Martial Heaven.

That last ditch effort of the Dominating Fist Heavenly Demon was why both Martial Heaven and the Heavenly Demon Cult had to spend so much effort trying to find the Heavenly Demon Egg, almost like finding a needle in a haystack.

And for all their efforts, Si-Hyeon had obtained it by accident.

In order to release the seals within the Heavenly Demon Orb, she had to come to the Heavenly Demon Mound, and now, she had released the seals and became the newest Heavenly Demon.

Si-Hyeon woke up confused, knowing that she should have died after having her heart destroyed. However, she immediately understood what had happened after looking to the side and seeing Bright Sword’s desiccated figure.

“My Life For My Heaven.”

To save one’s most precious by giving up one’s life.

It was one of the two secret techniques handed down among Bright Sword’s clan, a clan that had assisted and guarded the Heavenly Demon for generations.

Bright Sword was on his last breath, but hearing her say the name of the technique brought a smile to his face. He knew that Si-Hyeon had truly received the full inheritance of the Heavenly Demon.

“The Heavenly Demon Cult will live forever... forgive me for not being able to serve you properly...”

With these last words, Bright Sword left this world smiling. It was shocking enough that he was even able to say so much after giving every last bit of his life force to Si-Hyeon.

“Dark Sword. Are you here?”

“I serve the Heavenly Demon.”

A man dressed in black and riddled with injuries appeared before her.

Dark Sword.

As his title suggested, he was the Foundation Protector who served the Heavenly Demon from the shadows. Even until this very moment, he had followed Bright Sword and Si-Hyeon from the darkness.

It was not that he didn’t want to intervene or help his fellow; rather, this was Bright Sword and Dark Sword’s plan. They had realized that it might be impossible to keep Si-Hyeon alive otherwise, so they had accounted for this contingency as well.

They had made a pact to preserve their vitality as much as possible, avoiding fights and focusing on survival. That way, even if Si-Hyeon were to die, they would be able to collect her corpse and save her later by using this technique.

“... Senior brother, what happened to my senior brother?!”

“Certain death.”

Si-Hyeon closed her eyes tightly.

“What are the chances he survived?”

“Forgive me. He was already mortally wounded. Although he may have survived if he had been treated immediately, considering his Absolute realm cultivation, I saw with my own eyes a boulder that was probably 30,000 gwan[1] fall on top of him. Even though he was an Absolute Master, there was no way for him to survive being crushed by such a weight considering he was unconscious and seriously injured,” Dark Sword said in a dry voice.

He was neither happy nor sad about it; he was simply conveying to Si-Hyeon the facts that he had personally seen.

A healthy, fully grown adult man weighed roughly twenty gwan. What was that compared to

thirty thousand

?

It was a difference so great it was inconceivable.

As someone who led a merchant guild, Si-Hyeon understood this fact well.

Tears flowed from her eyes as they turned empty—as if the tears washed away everything in her soul.

“I saw Grandmaster there, too. What happened to him?”

Having not been able to see what had happened himself, Dark Sword only reported what the assassins under his command had told him.

“The Palm Martial Emperor is also dead.”

‘Now, there’s nothing left for me.’

Si-Hyeon had lost both her grandmaster and her senior brother on the same day.

“Who attacked us?”

“Martial Heaven. We are not sure about their origins, but as far as we know, it’s an organization created by a number of martial artists with many different backgrounds and legacies.”

Among the main forces of Martial Heaven, there were also former-members of the Heavenly Demon Cult—members who had rebelled and had been kicked out in the distant past.

Si-Hyeon’s blank and empty eyes suddenly flashed with emotion. And that emotion was not sadness or despair.

It was a burning desire for revenge.

Woosh!

A breeze suddenly began to stir within the secret underground chamber, a breeze in a room where there were no doors or windows. Suddenly, qi darker than the bottomless pits of hell exploded outward, enveloping Si-Hyeon’s entire body.

The bloodlust, demonic qi, and dominating force emanating from her being were so powerful that the Absolute Master Dark Sword stumbled backward, blood draining from his face!

The Heavenly Demon had finally appeared after their long wait, and Dark Sword knelt to the ground, feeling the power of the first female Heavenly Demon in the history of the Heavenly Demon Cult envelop his entire body.

“The Heavenly Demon Cult will live forever!”

“Martial Heaven. You may have failed to kill me, but you succeeded in killing all I cared about. You ignited my anger, and that anger will burn all of you to ashes.”

Just because she had assimilated all of the martial techniques of the Heavenly Demons throughout history didn’t mean that she had suddenly developed an affection for or a sense of belonging to the Heavenly Demon Cult.

No, on the contrary; although it wasn’t to the extent that she hated Martial Heaven, she profoundly hated them as well.

She knew, after assimilating the memories of the past Heavenly Demons, that if she hadn’t swallowed the Heavenly Demon Orb, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.

If she hadn’t gotten involved with the Heavenly Demon Cult, she and her dear ones wouldn’t have ended up like this.

However, her desire for revenge against Martial Heaven for killing her master, the Palm Martial Emperor, and her beloved, Woo-Moon, served as the fuel needed for her to take up the Heavenly Demon position and take the Heavenly Demon Cult for herself.

It would be impossible for her to take revenge on Martial Heaven without borrowing the power of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

With that, Song Woo-Moon’s junior sister, the Palm Martial Emperor’s pupil, the Leebi Guild’s master Yeon Si-Hyeon was gone.

What remained was the Forty-Sixth Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

***

Everything was blurry.

Like a living corpse, Woo-Moon lay motionless on a bed.

He didn’t eat or sleep; in fact, he didn’t even blink, just staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.

He didn’t even move when Eun-Ah came up to him and rubbed her head against his, licked his face, and acted all cute.

Even though Ma-Ra stood right by his side like a

jiangshi

, staring at him and waiting, he didn’t even give her a glance.

His hair grew longer, and a beard began to show. As he lost weight and his body lost his frame, his face became sunken, starkly contrasting with his rich hair and beard.

He had become an Absolute Master and even took a step beyond that, which meant he could go for incredible periods of time without food or sleep. However, even an Absolute Master needed water.

Knowing this, Ma-Ra went to fetch the clearest water from the nearby mountains to allow him to drink.

Woo-Moon and Ma-Ra stayed in the room while Eun-Ah stood guard outside, blocking others from entering.

In this way, they lived quietly within a secret shelter they had been brought to by Hye-Rim and Namar.

Then, once two seasons had passed, Ma-Ra disappeared.

When she returned after three days, she stood in front of Woo-Moon.

“Woo-Moon. Your parents and Gun-Ha disappeared, and they left you a note. I’m leaving. If you’re still like this the next time we meet, I’ll never come see you again. No, I’ll kill you so at least you don’t suffer anymore.”

Then, she left.

Woo-Moon still didn’t move.

Three days passed.

Grrrr.

Eun-Ah growled, scratching the ground with her claws.

“It’s already been three days since Lady Ma-Ra left. No matter how high his cultivation may be, he still needs to drink water. Please, I’m begging you, get out of the way!” Hye-Rim shouted from beyond the door.

However, Eun-Ah refused to budge, not allowing anyone other than Ma-Ra to approach Woo-Moon.

Although two seasons had passed, eun-Ah hadn’t grown a single bit compared to when she had entered the Heavenly Demon Mound.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t eating at all, but she was not eating anywhere near what she should have been considering her age. Thus, she was also much thinner than before.

Her eyes, which had once been innocent and pure, were filled with nothing but bloodlust and wariness.

As Eun-Ah didn’t get out of the way, Namar, who had been watching it all with a stern look on her face, stepped forward.

“There’s nothing else we can try. I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to use force to save him.”

Su Ran nodded in agreement with Namar’s words. Then, a young man wearing fancy golden clothes standing by their side also spoke up.

“How could the princess dirty her hands? I’ll handle this little beast.”

The young man, Ok Ji-Gyeong, walked forward with a sheathed sword in hand.

Growl!

As the stranger approached, Eun-Ah crouched low, bloodlust billowing in the air.

“We’re intervening to save a person. Get out of the way.”

Feeling as though it would be embarrassing if Eun-Ah got away, Ok Ji-Gyeong did not hold back at all. However, Eun-Ah was much more agile than he had thought, dodging his blow.

Ok Ji-Gyeong’s gaze grew cold. Standing in front of a woman he had feelings for made him even more sensitive.

He swung his scabbard so hard that it sounded as if a naked sword was whistling through the air.

This was the attack of a Transcendent expert; although Eun-Ah was fast, it wasn’t an attack that she could dodge.

“Young Master Ok!”

Su Ran frowned and called out to him, because he was being too heavy-handed, but at that moment, something strange happened.

Tap.

A skinny, hairy man appeared like a ghost and lightly grabbed the scabbard swinging down.

Ok Ji-Gyeong felt a shiver run down his spine. Even though he hadn’t unsheathed his sword, that was still his full strength imbued in that swing. To think that the monstrous man before him had caught it so effortlessly!

“You’ve awoken.”

“You’re awake.”

The three women immediately recognized the monstrous man.

It was Woo-Moon.

Knowing that he would be dead if not for them, Woo-Moon smiled softly and nodded.

Of course, it was impossible to see his smile; the massive beard on his face only revealed his sparkling eyes.

Kyang.

As Eun-Ah cried, she walked to Woo-Moon and rubbed her head and back along his leg. In turn, Woo-Moon smiled and stroked her back.

Shing!!!

Suddenly, a bright light burst from Eun-Ah’s body.

“Ugh!”

Ok Ji-Gyeong groaned and closed his eyes tightly, stepping back. The three women also found themselves unable to look properly due to the intensity of the light.

Among the gathered five, the only one standing still was Woo-Moon.

In the warm light that only he could witness, he saw Eun-Ah growing tremendously.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

A miraculous spiritual qi hovered around her.

All noise around them ceased, as if all the birds and insects in the vicinity were holding their breath.

Then, the tigers on the nearby mountain roared at the same time, as if celebrating the awakening of their sovereign.

Finally, Eun-Ah stopped growing, and the light dissipated.

Within the haze of light that surrounded a man and beast, Woo-Moon and the now-massive Eun-Ah stood facing each other. Woo-Moon was not short by any standards, and yet the “baby tiger” was now looking down at him.

Even as she was standing still on all fours, an overwhelming aura of majesty and intimidation emanated from Eun-Ah.

ROOOAAARRR!!!

Eun-Ah looked up at the sky and cried out loud.

The roar of the Silver Tiger, which had the power to subdue all beasts, echoed through the mountains.

The three women and Ok Ji-Gyeong felt themselves shrink back, with trembling legs, as a fear stemming from their primal instincts took over.

The great tigers roaring toward them from all directions suddenly quieted down after Eun-Ah’s roar.

Woo-Moon smiled and extended a hand toward Eun-Ah. Seeing that, she bent her front legs and lowered her head, with eyes as gentle and clear as when she had been a cub.

His hand caressed her face.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

Now feeling better, Eun-Ah cried softly and rubbed her head against Woo-Moon’s chest.

“Wow, isn’t that a white tiger?”

“How did a white tiger get here? Why is it so big? And what the hell was that roar just now?!”

Many nearby people came out and looked over at Woo-Moon and Eun-Ah in surprise.

Woo-Moon kicked off the ground and lightly leaped onto Eun-Ah’s back.

“Thank you so much for helping Ma-Ra and me, Eun-Ah. I’ll definitely repay this favor someday.”

“Are you going to leave?” Su Ran asked.

Woo-Moon nodded.

“I need to find my parents. Please understand.”

“Understood. It would be best to keep the fact that you are alive a secret, right?”

“Of course. Only then will we be able to strike Martial Heaven from the shadows.”

“Where are you going? Are you going to Gansu to find Young Lady Smileless Flower?”

“Yes.”

“Then be careful. Apparently, the Cruel Sandstorm Riders and the Hegemon Clan are fighting there.”

“Thank you. I’ll never forget this grace. Let’s go, Eun-Ah.”

Roar!!

With a loud roar, Eun-Ah ran like the wind and headed northwest.

After Woo-Moon left, Su Ran sighed slightly and looked over at Ok Ji-Gyeong.

“Are you okay, Young Master Ok?”

1. An old Korean measurement of weight, 100 taels or 3.75kg—so this boulder would be around 112 metric tons. ☜