Regressed by the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 16

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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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I had been returned to Cheonma.
Geonkkon (1)
—The Magnetic Celestial Thunder Divine Technique.
It was an absolute art perfected by taking my celestial bones and magnetic constitution’s Magnetic Energy as its foundation, then adding the Thunder Divine Destruction Technique.
Not only had I poured all my Martial Understanding and enlightenment into it, but it was a martial technique meant for no one but me—one that even took into account the realms I had failed to reach in my previous life.
If the Thunder Divine Destruction Technique worked by transforming one’s own body into lightning itself, growing more destructive the more it shattered,
then the Magnetic Celestial Thunder Divine Technique controlled and condensed the Thunder Qi that surged from my strengthened Magnetic Energy, rendering the losses from that destructive force utterly null.
The Magnetic Energy flowing through every part of me.
The Celestial Thunder Qi of the Magnetic Celestial Thunder Divine Technique.
As the Celestial Thunder Qi rose higher, my Magnetic Energy that suppressed and controlled it also locked firmly in place, tempering and strengthening itself.
Yin and Yang. Dragon and Tiger biting each other’s tails, growing endlessly—such was the principle.
And now, the destructive force born from this had finally shown its true brilliance.
—The Celestial Dragon Magnetic Thunder Sword.
—Collapse Thunder First Chain.
A single flash of lightning.
The moment the six spearmen standing in the room faced that light, they collapsed like stalks of straw.
The instant I shook the blood-stained blade once, the remaining Magnetic Energy-mixed Thunder Qi shimmered like heat haze above their corpses and vanished.
Crackle-crackle-crackle.
“Serviceable,” I murmured.
No—it was more than serviceable.
It felt as though the heels of Cheonma, whom I had always been chasing, had suddenly stepped close before me.
Surpassing her would feel quite extraordinary indeed.
Thud-thud-thud.
“Did the blade go astray? One of them is still breathing.”
I closed the half-open door.
Click.
Then, from the pile of corpses in the room, Wangbaek—the sole survivor—began pleading with his hands and feet.
“Spare me, I beg you!! All of this—it was that demon Cheongya who ordered it! I was only following commands!!”
“How predictable. You must have been promised a reward. Or perhaps while I was pinned here, you were heading to the Baekryeong Wood Warehouse? To ambush it if our deal went sour, or secure the Baekryeong Wood if it didn’t?”
“That is… well…”
“It doesn’t matter. Since this wretch will be dead here, the Yong Cheol Ryeon men lying in wait at the warehouse won’t dare move without orders. I’ll simply go and kill them all. Shall we begin with you first?”
As I wiped the blood from my cheek with my palm and stepped toward Wangbaek, he wept and begged.
“I’ll do whatever you command!! Please, just spare my life!!”
“Fine. Then do as I say. Can you manage it?”
“Yes!! Of course I can!!”
“Go to Yong Cheol Ryeon and tell them: Cheongya, coveting my Baekryeong Wood, launched a sudden assault on me. I fled, and Cheongya is now chasing me toward the Baekryeong Wood Warehouse. You escaped to warn them.”
“Then… does that mean…?”
“Yes. I’m going to destroy Yong Cheol Ryeon tonight. Once they hear their leader is dead, they won’t chase me—they’ll scramble to flee. But I won’t have that.”
I tapped Wangbaek’s rump with the scabbard—a sharp, decisive blow.
“Are you not going?”
“I’m… I’m going!!!!”
“Spread the word far and wide.”
Rumor becomes truth, and truth becomes justification.
And the Orthodox Faction, once given cause enough, grows far more vicious than any Demonic Person.
I had become someone trying to make a fair exchange only to be ambushed by Cheongya—a person justified in seeking revenge.
“So now I must have my vengeance.”
I set out for the Baekryeong Wood Warehouse where Seolha would be waiting.
*
*
*
The western outskirts of Nanjoo, near the Baekryeong Wood Warehouse.
The elite force sent from Yong Cheol Ryeon was waiting for the carrier pigeon Cheongya would dispatch.
But something felt off.
Time had dragged on far too long.
Simak, the loyal subordinate whom Cheongya treasured—a brother who had fought beside him since their bandit days—brightened his gaze.
He served as both Yong Cheol Ryeon’s commander-in-chief and the leader of the Gwichul Dae, Cheongya’s personal guard unit.
“Has there been any word from the leader?”
“No, sir. None.”
Ma Dangjoo of the Jeokryeol Dang replied.
As the organization managing the Yeom Wang Slush Fund, they were always at the forefront of the dirtiest work.
“This is peculiar. It should have been finished long ago.”
“He’s nothing but a frog in a well, sheltered by Hwanggeum Jang’s shadow. By now, he’s probably trembling as he signs an agreement under Ryeonjoo’s thumb.”
“Leaving only a single person to guard the warehouse is equally strange. And a frail woman at that. What could he possibly be trusting that nameless soldier with….”
“Why not simply kill the woman first and seize control of the warehouse? One death won’t derail the entire transaction.”
“Hwanggeum Jang may not be a martial clan, but they command Sichuan province. It’s wiser to coax and train them according to Ryeonjoo’s wishes.”
“A shame, then.”
Simak clicked his tongue at the light in Ma Dangjoo’s eyes.
“Lewder than a satyr. Even now, all you see is that woman’s face.”
“I’ve never laid eyes on such beauty in my life. It’s as though the Moon Goddess herself dances before us. Heh. If Ryeonjoo gives the order, that woman will be mine.”
Even Simak, feigning indifference, swallowed hard.
“Age and rank make me first.”
Then it came.
“Still, whoever goes first doesn’t follow any order, does it?”
A strange and chill voice cut through the night air.
Crack—
At the same moment, Ma Dangjoo’s face split cleanly in half as his shoulders shook with laughter.
“Damn it!!”
Simak lunged to reposition his spear, but the crackling thunder that swallowed his vision came first.
—Celestial Dragon Magnetic Thunder Sword—
—Collapse Thunder Second Chain—
“What are you doing!! Kill that bas—….”
Before he could finish, the roiling thunder swept forth like leaping lightning, converging on Simak’s body.
Crack—
Simak’s shoulder and arm, still gripping the spear, were severed in an instant.
“Gahhh.”
“Gaaahhh.”
No one’s scream remained whole.
The Celestial Thunder Qi blooming from the blade’s edge burned nerves and tore muscle, filling the night with its sound.
No room for a counterattack with the spear.
No time to draw a deep breath and confront what lay before them.
They had none of it.
Each time the thunder scattered, blood flew without fail.
Nearly a hundred men were torn asunder.
Helplessness and terror descended upon them.
Then Simak, who had fallen unconscious moments before, opened his eyes again, trembling as though waking from a nightmare.
Immediately before him was the flash of thunder.
“Please… spare me….”
Yong Cheol Ryeon and all it meant had already vanished from his mind.
He could only writhe in terror before the death laid bare before his eyes.
Yet the gaze that met him was calm and still, utterly without mercy.
Rather, it smiled quietly.
“Why would I?”
“…….”
“This is the price for coveting what you should not have coveted.”
Geonkkon’s blade traced lightly across Simak’s throat.
Hiss.
The last of the thunder scattered, singeing the windpipe.
At that moment, Seolha emerged from the grass.
“Young Master.”
Geonkkon swept his hair back, standing in the blood-soaked field.
“Yes. I was a bit slow, wasn’t I?”
Seolha shook her head and approached him without hesitation, blood-stained as he was, their eyes meeting.
“Next time, please don’t tell me to do nothing and wait. If blood is to stain your hands because of this… then I’ll do it instead. That’s my duty.”
Seolha drew out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from Geonkkon, and a delicate silence settled between them.
Geonkkon laughed softly.
“No. I’ll bear whatever blood comes. But instead….”
Geonkkon closed his hand around Seolha’s, still holding the handkerchief.
“Just wipe away the traces of blood that you’ve left on me, like you did today. That’s enough.”
The dark clouds that had obscured the moon began to drift away, and faint moonlight seeped through the darkness.
*
*
*
The main stronghold of Yong Cheol Ryeon — Cheol Roo Won.
Hundreds of torches had gathered in the training grounds of Cheol Roo Won.
Three of the Four Division Heads of Yong Cheol Ryeon, upon hearing news of Wangbaek, had assembled subordinates numbering over four hundred.
Eom Dangjoo, his expression troubled, stroked his beard.
“We’ve received no reply to the message sent to Ma Dangjoo, who departed with Director Simak in tow. Yet I’m uncertain whether we ought to move based solely on this Wangbaek fellow’s word.”
Bang Dangjoo, hearing this, turned to Go Dangjoo to confirm.
“What of the Master himself? Have we learned anything?”
Go Dangjoo answered, his eyes blazing.
“I’ve ordered the men to scout ahead and determine where the Master has gone. We cannot remain idle like this. I myself will lead my subordinates to the Master’s aid. We must help him before matters spiral further out of hand!”
“Hmm. Perhaps Eom Dangjoo speaks wisely, yet something feels… off.”
Before Bang Dangjoo could finish his murmur, the great gate of Cheol Roo Won adjoining the training grounds exploded into splinters.
Bang!
Through the churning dust, a single shaft of black spear sang through the air, sharp as lightning.
Shriek!
The spear flew like a flash of light, piercing through Go Dangjoo, who had been standing upright only moments before, and buried itself in the ground. Eom Dangjoo at his side trembled, his beard quivering.
“That… the Master’s spear… Surely you cannot mean…”
Bang Dangjoo, the only one still clinging to his wits, cried out in a wavering voice.
“Who are you!!”
Step. Step.
In that moment, I emerged from the swirling dust alongside Seolha.
“There will be no reply. Your master is dead by my hand.”
“You wretched dog!!! How dare you betray the trust between us and act like a pack of bandits, you merchant scoundrel! Do you mean to become a plague upon the martial world itself!!”
I let out a small laugh.
“Wangbaek!”
At that, Wangbaek came scurrying over and prostrated himself.
“Yes, Master.”
The faces of the Division Heads, now understanding the situation, contorted with rage.
“So it was you, you treacherous dog, who spoke such honeyed lies!!”
Bang Dangjoo shrieked.
I paid him no mind and spoke.
“Go now to the Baekryeong Wood Warehouse and distribute Baekryeong Wood free of charge to those suffering from the lingering effects and afflictions of Seokryeong Cho. Let it be done under Jegarin’s name.”
“Free… you say free of charge?”
“What, does it displease you? Shall I kill you now instead?”
“No, not at all! I go at once!”
Wangbaek fled without so much as a backward glance, and the warriors of Yong Cheol Ryeon moved to pursue him.
But a chill of devastating cold cut through their path, transforming into blade-light that swept through ten warriors in a single breath.
“No one moves.”
As Seolha fully released her power, the tension in the hall reached its pinnacle.
“Hear me well. Your master disrupted a legitimate transaction, attempted to coerce me, and sought my death. Moreover, he sent subordinates to my warehouse to lie in ambush — to mount an assault on my Baekryeong Wood Warehouse.”
None dared contradict my words.
“You have one day. In recompense for the wrongs you have inflicted upon me, you will pay the price for the Baekryeong Wood I have freely given to the people of Nanjoo. Karmic retribution rendered in coin.”
With the absolute shadow of Cheongya now gone, the three remaining Division Heads stood like candles before the wind, helpless and lost.
They longed to kill me here, to twist the truth to their advantage — yet I had slain even their master, and courage to oppose me was beyond them.
“By now you’ve surely padded your coffers well enough. I won’t ask for the slush funds — just make certain the payment for the Baekryeong Wood is settled properly. Then we call the matter closed.”
“I am Bang Dangjoo, one of the Four Division Heads. If both the Master and Director Simak have met their end by your hand, then you and we are sworn enemies.”
“I understand. Such steadfast loyalty deserves respect. Summon your full strength and fight…”
Bang Dangjoo hastily cut off my words.
“No, no!!! Please, hear me out to the end!!”
I nodded, my expression bemused.
“What sum do you require? We will provide it in full.”
Things were proceeding quite smoothly.

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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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