My Father Is the Number One Under Heaven - Chapter 167

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 167. All Evil Customs Fade
Sa-dae Beop-beop could not comprehend it.
Why was Yeo Un-hwi going to such extremes for people he had only just met?
They were merely tools prepared for the Heavenly Demon, nothing more.
And to erase the records of the previous Heavenly Demon carved into this pillar of Eternal Iron—that was no easy feat.
Perhaps it might be possible someday, but not now, he thought.
Yeo Un-hwi had only just become the Heavenly Demon; he could not possibly possess deeper Internal Energy than his predecessor.
But they did not know.
Yeo Un-hwi’s Internal Energy already far exceeded the combined power of the second and third Heavenly Demons.
Regardless of what they thought, Yeo Un-hwi stepped forward without hesitation before the massive pillar of Eternal Iron.
The pillar was so enormous that Yeo Un-hwi appeared impossibly small beside it.
As Yeo Un-hwi’s gaze swept up and down the pillar, he suddenly spoke.
“If this were to disappear, would there be a risk of this place collapsing?”
Startled by the sudden question, Wi Seol-rin tilted her head before shaking it.
“No, sir. That would not happen. Several other pillars are already supporting the structure.”
“I see. Then it’s unnecessary. Good.”
“Pardon?”
At Wi Seol-rin’s uncertain reply, Yeo Un-hwi merely lifted the corners of his mouth slightly.
He had only asked to be certain.
After all, though he cared little for himself, others might be endangered.
Yet Wi Seol-rin found only confusion in his question.
The massive pillar of Eternal Iron was as thick as the trunk of an ancient tree that had stood for centuries.
To disappear? Such a thing was utterly impossible.
And yet—
Whoosh.
Yeo Un-hwi extended his hand toward the pillar.
As if to cover it, his palm pressed against the Iron Commandments carved by the second and third Heavenly Demons.
‘What is he planning?’
She understood he meant to erase the Iron Commandments left by his predecessors.
Yet the intent behind his question moments ago eluded her understanding.
To say the pillar was unnecessary—wasn’t that as good as saying he meant to destroy it?
Could it be…
Then it happened.
Rumble.
Yeo Un-hwi released the full measure of power he had restrained.
The moment his pupils transformed to Golden Light, the air rippled, and brilliant radiance poured forth from his entire being.
“I shall ensure that such vile customs can never be forged again.”
Then Yeo Un-hwi’s Golden Light touched the massive pillar of Eternal Iron, and—
Blaze!
An enormous radiance filled all of Manma Palace.
Sa-dae Beop-beop, Wi Seol-rin, and all the priestesses shielded their eyes.
The light faded not long after.
Everyone cautiously opened their eyes.
Yet the pillar stood exactly as it had been, without a single scratch upon it.
A failure.
Sa-dae Beop-beop and Wi Seol-rin exhaled silently, swallowing down their disappointment.
It was as they had expected. Or rather, it was only natural.
No matter how supreme one’s Martial Arts, Eternal Iron was not something to be handled so easily.
Still, the aura Yeo Un-hwi had emanated was so immense that they had found themselves hoping against reason.
Then—
Tick. Tick-tick-tick.
Suddenly, fragments began to fall from the pillar of Eternal Iron.
“Wh—what is this…!”
The massive pillar cracked into thousands upon thousands of pieces, then crumbled to dust and fell like rain.
No pillar stood before Yeo Un-hwi any longer.
Sa-dae Beop-beop and Wi Seol-rin’s eyes widened in shock.
He had not merely etched his handprint into the pillar of Eternal Iron—he had annihilated the pillar itself.
How could such power exist?
They had spent their entire lives imagining the supreme form of a great Heavenly Demon, picturing it countless times over,
yet this transcended all they had ever hoped or imagined in their lifetimes.
Silence fell across Manma Palace.
No one dared to speak carelessly.
“How’s that? Does this work for you?”
Yeo Un-hwi turned and smiled faintly.
To Sa-dae Beop-beop and Wi Seol-rin, he loomed like an impossibly vast mountain.
No—
‘He is a divine being.’
‘The true Heavenly Demon has returned!’
The hearts of Wi Seol-rin and Sa-dae Beop-beop began to race violently.
Merely to serve the Heavenly Demon they had yearned for their entire lives would have been the fulfillment of their greatest aspiration—yet the one they now served transcended imagination itself in power.
For those bearing the calling to serve their lord, no greater honor could exist.
Their eyes began to gleam with exhilaration and anticipation.
In that moment, Yeo Un-hwi spoke to them.
“You are free now. Cast off these wretched customs and go find your own lives.”
“I… beg your pardon?”
At his words, they all wore expressions of complete bewilderment.
It was something they had never anticipated, not once.
As they stood frozen, uncertain how to respond, the Azure Dragon was the first to recover, opening his mouth to speak.
“Heavenly Demon, but we are—”
“Tools prepared for the Heavenly Demon, and destined to live only for that purpose? You want to speak of this mission you carry? Forget it. It’s all nonsense. Your whole lives you’ve been forced to live for strangers you don’t even know. But that’s wrong. If you truly wish to live that way—”
Yeo Un-hwi smiled faintly at them, gazing at their stunned faces.
“Then live for those you love. Walk your path alongside someone worth sharing grand dreams with, someone worth building a life alongside. That is a life truly worth living. Do you understand?”
He had no desire to lecture them at length like this.
Yet thinking of all those countless souls who, across generations, had been sacrificed for the existence called the Heavenly Demon without ever knowing anything else, Yeo Un-hwi could not bear it.
A life never chosen by one’s own hand.
No matter how resolved he’d become to become the Heavenly Demon, he could not bring himself to force that destiny upon them.
If he didn’t make this clear, unease would linger in his heart forever.
“Of course, no one will dare speak ill of you. I will ensure it. If you cannot decide now, take your time and choose slowly. Leave whenever you wish. So make whatever choice your heart desires.”
At his words, Sa-dae Beop-beop and the Priestess bore expressions as if struck by a hammer.
A life of compulsion.
A life never chosen by their own hands.
Emotions they had forgotten—or rather, deliberately buried deep—began to bubble up and surface once more.
Yes.
They were human, after all.
No matter how they had been raised since childhood for their calling, how could they never once have felt that this life was unreasonable?
So many Priestesses and Dharma Protectors had withered away, waiting endlessly for a Heavenly Demon who might never return.
In truth, they wanted to say it aloud.
What good was a lofty calling? Their lives were fleeting and meaningless.
Not even one tear shed at their final dissolution was ever repaid.
And I, too, would be the same.
Yet whenever such thoughts stirred, those around them spoke and demanded of them:
What you bear is a mission and a duty, and fulfilling it is the highest glory.
So in the end, they buried it all. They forgot, they turned away.
My will, my actions, my life—all for the Heavenly Demon alone.
They had lived believing this, ever believing.
And at last, they had met the Heavenly Demon.
Yet that Heavenly Demon was saying:
It is an unreasonable life. Abandon everything and seek the life you desire.
Live for those you love, and walk alongside someone worthy of sharing dreams with.
Everything they had suppressed burst forth at once, and countless emotions swept through them.
‘Is it truly acceptable? Really…?’
As if reading the thought that had struck them simultaneously, Yeo Un-hwi smiled and nodded.
Of course it would be confusing. It only made sense that it would be.
The way one lives cannot change in a single moment.
Yet no matter how long that choice took, Yeo Un-hwi intended to help them live lives that were truly their own, exactly as he had promised.
He did not want a life that lamented the inability to use another’s strength for his own purposes.
For any life, however it began, would eventually darken if built upon such foundations.
So he had made his resolve.
Come what may, he would do things his own way.
But Yeo Un-hwi did not know.
It was precisely his actions, his words, and the sincerity gleaming in his eyes that drew forth the true loyalty of Sa-dae Beop-beop and the Priestess.
How much time had passed?
Everyone present in that room, including Sa-dae Beop-beop and the Priestess Wi Seol-rin, seemed as though their thoughts had finally crystallized.
And their answer was,
“We shall follow the Heavenly Demon to the very end.”
In that instant, Yeo Un-hwi’s expression went blank.
Wait—did he need to explain again?
“Look. It seems you didn’t understand what I was saying.”
“No, we understood. And we have chosen to do exactly as you instructed.”
“What do you mean?”
“You told us to live for those we love. And to walk alongside those worthy of dreaming and walking together with us.”
Following Wi Seol-rin’s words, Black Tortoise, one of Sa-dae Beop-beop, spoke up.
“We wish to dream alongside the Heavenly Demon and live our lives together with him.”
“Of course, should we come to meet those we love, we shall gladly live for them as well.”
“So please, accept us.”
“We truly desire to be at the side of the Heavenly Demon.”
After Black Tortoise came Azure Dragon, then White Tiger and Vermilion Phoenix, each speaking their mind carefully.
Not answers to a command,
but opinions born of choice.
Words so strange and unfamiliar were flowing from their mouths.
As Yeo Un-hwi had said, they could have chosen to leave this place.
But they had witnessed it.
In this brief moment, what manner of person Yeo Un-hwi truly was.
And so they wished to stake everything on him—the one who had given them choice for the first time in their lives and who had grieved for them with genuine heart.
No longer on the Heavenly Demon, but on Yeo Un-hwi as a human being.
And it was undeniable that this would prove far more compelling than the alternative of wandering the world according to their own will.
“Mm. There may come moments when you regret it. As you can see, I’m the sort of person who frequently gets tangled up in rather troublesome affairs.”
“We shall welcome even such moments with joy.”
“I’m only human, you know. There will be times when I disappoint you.”
“As you say, being human, we shall accept it as such.”
“You’ve all grown bold rather quickly, unlike just moments ago.”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s words, all of them smiled faintly.
They bowed their heads as they smiled.
“We shall follow the Heavenly Demon!”
Their eyes now gleamed differently than before.
It was the light that only humans could possess—those who had decided to walk their own lives by their own will, rather than puppets whose necks were cinched by duty, doing as commanded.
“Ha, haha. Well, this is something.”
After scratching his head for a moment, Yeo Un-hwi soon nodded.
“Good. I shall ensure that choice bears no regret.”
Yeo Un-hwi too held a soft smile, his eyes alight with quiet radiance.
Here, now, another dream was being born—a new bond taking root.
And ere long, the world would see it.
A new face of the Heavenly Demon Divine Religion that the world had never before known.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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