Regressed by the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 7

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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 returned to the Celestial Demon.
A Small Investment (2)
If you ventured beyond the snow-blanketed Mok Won into the forest fringe, there existed a haven of cultivation unmarred by prying eyes—a gift of nature itself.
The ideal place to refine one’s martial arts without witness.
Before entering the inner chamber, Seol Ha and I did well to linger here, taking our time.
“How are you progressing with the Han Ho Yu Eun Gong?”
The Han Ho Yu Eun Gong was a martial art that Seol Ha had aggressively reforged from Sugap Gong, the transmitted art of the Han water clan—her own innovation.
“Honestly?”
“Yes.”
“After hearing what you said, I abandoned the training method I’d chosen for faster progress, even if unstable. So naturally my advancement has slowed. I’m at a plateau.”
Seol Ha’s face darkened.
Hearing this, I felt grateful for two things.
First, that she’d taken my advice to heart and shifted her training at once; and second, that even when she hit this wall, she didn’t resent me—she waited for my next guidance.
“Good.”
“How is that good? I need to grow stronger—”
“I know. So that no one would dare harm me, yes? That’s what you mean?”
She said nothing.
“I understand that resolve, but you can’t shield me from every danger in this world. Don’t cling to an impossible ideal. That said—I’m not telling you to be a burden.”
Seol Ha bristled.
“I have never been a burden to you. And I never will be.”
“No? Then there must be physical strain from choosing that faster cultivation method. Tell me there isn’t.”
As I stepped closer, Seol Ha instinctively retreated half a step.
Before she could withdraw further, I caught her left shoulder.
“Your left shoulder is only the beginning. A fractured center and reckless qi manipulation—eventually you won’t even be able to grip a sword properly.”
“How did you—”
“You think I wouldn’t notice you hiding it? This isn’t for my sake. And certainly not for yours either.”
This was her wall.
Sugap Gong was never transmitted across the ages to harm anyone; but she had forcibly reshaped it into something aggressive and rapid, and now those contradictions were consuming her.
She was too gifted not to sense it.
She was simply turning away from it in her urgency.
“From today onward, abandon the Han Ho Yu Eun Gong. This time was to let you feel the wall yourself.”
“Is there another path for me?”
“There is. I’ll teach you a different ice art—one advanced enough to fill the gaps that Sugap Gong lacks in sheer offense, and then some. More than that, the strengths of Sugap Gong will deepen this new art further.”
Sugap Gong possessed one remarkable virtue.
Though its qi release and circulation were slow, the true energy deployed remained stable, heavy, and unyielding.
“Until now, you’ve discarded Sugap Gong’s strengths to chase aggression alone, so your vital force has only grown more chaotic. But if you embrace a balanced offensive form that honors Sugap Gong’s virtues, your thirst will be quenched.”
This was an art I had conceived from the moment of my return.
The hidden secret technique of Beihaibing Palace—the one that Hyeon Heum Bing Ma could never steal, even as he laid waste to the entire palace.
A lost art unknown even to Beihaibing Palace’s own masters until Hyeon Heum Bing Ma appeared; a technique bearing the profound wisdom of the palace’s founder.
—The Bing Bai Xue Feng Gong.
“Sugap Gong’s qi is dense. Its slow circulation means that as you chain more techniques together, progress stalls. But heaviness is not weakness or sluggishness.”
Seol Ha’s eyes brightened as if some truth had dawned on her.
Just then, snow began to fall between us once more, swirling softly.
I gestured toward the accumulated drifts with a crunch of my step.
“Fallen snow lies still, layering upon itself. But when a powerful wind strikes at its center—”
My sword swept through the air, and the snow rushed away in an avalanche, cascading in one violent direction.
“—it collapses the way you choose. What matters is the wind’s direction and the precision of its force.”
“Not endless chains of technique, but accumulation, endurance, then release where you will.”
The core of this secret art—born from the marriage of Bing Bai Xue Feng Gong and Sugap Gong—would open new ground for her.
“This art is called the Bing Bai Xuan Wu Gong. Master the Xuan Wu Bu Dong Bo and the Bing Bai Xuan Wu Geom forms that flow from it.”
Though I had reforged this art myself, exactly what walls she might strike, or how far she might soar, were still beyond my certain knowledge.
One thing, however, was certain: when she attained some mastery of it,
my sister would reach the level I had known in my past life far younger than I had.
Because,
by my memory and experience, she possessed the Celestial Bone of Beihaibing Palace’s first master—the Beimingji Shen Ti.
“Aren’t you curious how I know this art, or why I haven’t taught it before?”
At my sudden question, Seol Ha met my eyes with a calm gaze.
“I’ve been thinking. How should I treat you, when so much has changed—”
“And?”
“That just because your many changes defy explanation or adjustment doesn’t mean my resolve and heart toward you should waver. Whether you explain or not, I—”
Seol Ha gripped her sword tightly.
“I want to stay by your side, young master.”
I’d expected it, but still found myself admiring her resolve all over again.
And the weight of losing someone who had trusted me so absolutely, so blindly, in my past life—it ached terribly.
But this time would be different.
I thought of Cheon Yu-wol, smiling at me with that bitter edge.
Thank you, my lord. In this life, I’ll play it through properly.
“All right. Let’s begin then.”
Our shadows disappeared into the thickening snow.
*
*
*
I returned to Jang Won a fortnight later.
Though the time was short, the progress in cultivation surpassed all expectation.
Without a watching eye, I trained her freely, and I myself began refining new martial arts suited to my reborn Celestial Bone.
Now that I had completed the Second Stage of the Great Method.
I had transcended the Sword Qi Merchant and reached the Sword Qi Perfect Master—wielding sword energy at will.
A complete Peak Expert.
I don’t know what level Cheon Yu-wol has reached by now.
But judging from the conversations we’d had in the past, I’ve climbed at least to her heels at this point.
Compared to who I was before the return, when I first encountered her, I’ve already reached Beyond Heaven, and across the entire Yellow Gold Region, only two remain who could threaten me.
Perhaps because of this, Seol Ha, for all she tried not to show it openly, carried a brightness in her eyes that spoke of constant quiet elation.
After so many years of darkness, a tremendous light of hope had finally begun to shine down upon us.
“Look at this bastard’s face, will you? Glowing like a freshly struck fire. Did you stumble into some beauty’s chamber?”
I’d been in good spirits after washing up.
But that evaporated the moment I stepped out, greeted by a disgruntled visitor waiting for me.
“Why must you come running to confront someone the moment they return home after so long?”
Geon Pyeong stood before the Bronze Mirror, combing his hair, and spoke to my reflection in it.
“Why have you grown so much?”
It was a question I’d half-anticipated.
I’d always been a robust child, and even as a boy, my height outmatched my years.
So despite my young age, my frame had been similar enough to Geon A-seong’s that I could pass as him.
But now, standing before the Third Stage of the Great Method, my stature had surpassed mere size—I towered past Geon Pyeong, who stood six feet tall.
I’d grown more than a foot.
Geon Pyeong could only stare at me, his expression brimming with suspicion and bewilderment.
Rather than offer excuse-laden explanations, I simply smiled at him.
“Curious? I don’t feel like telling you.”
Geon Pyeong’s face hardened.
“Have you lost your mind? Not only have you been talking back to me since last time, but now you’re openly provoking me? So getting a bit of adult treatment has made you forget who your brother is?”
Geon Pyeong closed the distance in a single bound, his expression darkening with killing intent as if he might slap me across the face that very instant.
I would have preferred he draw his blade.
Brothers killing each other with swords—that could always be written off as an accident.
As fierce Dou Qi rose between us, I fell silent.
Should I kill him now—
I considered it briefly.
Then, as I stood waiting quietly, a regretful sound escaped him.
“Here you stand, mute as a mouse, yet you still strut around?”
“I’m not doing anything of the sort.”
Misunderstandings are always free.
“Just draw your blade. It’s been long since we had a proper bout.”
Despite my provocation, Geon Pyeong laughed with unflappable ease.
“Forget it. Beating down a pup like you would only waste my time. Don’t squander the hours—sit down for a moment. I won’t even ask you what trick let you grow so tall.”
Surprised by his sudden composure, I yielded and took a seat.
After all, severing Geon Pyeong’s neck was already scheduled for the not-too-distant future anyway.
“So, what is it?”
“That favor you asked of me before—I’m thinking of granting it now. How does that sound?”
What favor was that—
Best to stay silent in a situation like this.
As I said nothing, Geon Pyeong, as if his body itched to speak, readily resolved the confusion for me.
“You wanted to attend the regular gathering of the Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society. You were always frustrated about not getting an invitation.”
Ah, now I understand.
The Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society—a gathering of rising talents in Sichuan that’s utterly useless from my perspective, yet too significant to dismiss entirely.
Deep in my memory, there was a time when I, too, longed to move among their glittering ranks.
“Lacking qualifications, you said? And now suddenly I’m qualified?”
“I pulled some strings for you.”
Such sudden kindness….
Knowing Geon Pyeong’s nature as I do, this made no sense.
All of Taebuin’s children were cut from the same cloth.
The way he smiled wickedly, flicking that cunning tongue of his, I could piece together roughly what Geon Pyeong intended to accomplish through the Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society.
He was either herding me toward some scandal worthy of Taebuin’s ear, or preparing a situation ripe for humiliation.
But why go to such lengths?
Hmm. Could it be that Taebuin reproached him over our recent transaction?
The moment I connected Geon Pyeong’s behavior to what had happened before, the picture clarified.
Taebuin had certainly seen through the situation.
Yet she could never know what lay buried in Mok Won, so she must have believed that I conducted the transaction solely for Seol Ha’s sake.
In any case, the situation was not unfavorable to me.
The more Geon Pyeong grew hostile and restless, the clearer my justification became for undermining and seizing what was his.
Just as I would do now.
“How fortunate. My blood’s been itching for action anyway. So the moment has finally come to bask in the attentions of the Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society’s lovely women?”
I played along, and Geon Pyeong grinned wickedly.
Yet even as I spoke, various pieces of information concerning the Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society flickered through my mind.
The Sichuan Dragon Phoenix Society….
By now, there was a fair chance she would be there as well.
Geon Pyeong’s sudden proposal was opportune—far more opportune than he realized.
So you prove useful after all, Geon Pyeong.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!!!”
As if in reply to my laughter, Geon Pyeong laughed louder still.
“Kuh ha ha ha ha!!!”
We were dreaming different dreams.

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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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