Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Maybe it was the warmth inside the wagon, but the girl had calmed down. 

Otherwise, it may have been hard for her to endure more mental pain. 

Either way, she was now trembling in her sleep, likely having a nightmare. 

Do Jin-myung stroked the girl’s hair, using some of his qi to calm the girl down. 

“Poor thing,” Jegal Sung sighed. 

The Sage of Bright Rock continued to chant. “Amitabha.”

It might be hard for a little girl to overcome… The memories might haunt her for the rest of her life. 

But she survived.

I don’t know what happened, but she survived that hell. 

And as long as you survive, you can do anything. 

That was something Woon-seong knew better than anyone. 

After all, he had been able to come this far because he had been mysteriously saved.

Except, you have to overcome the memories and pain on your own.

Woon-seong glanced at the girl once more before closing his eyes. 

“I’ll take care of this child.”

To Do Jin-myung’s declaration, no one said anything. 

It was obvious that the Sage had been closer to the Calling Sword Sect’s leader than he had said. Otherwise, he would not have taken in the man’s daughter.

However, that was not an important matter. 

There were other things to discuss. 

Slowly, it was Bright Rock who spoke first. 

“I have a question for you.”

Hearing someone speak, Woon-seong opened his eyes, only to see that Bright Rock had been asking him. 

Bright Rock swallowed. “Are you sure the traces of the sword belong to someone in the realm of a semi-divine being?”

Woon-seong nodded instead of answering aloud. He had also been thinking of that problem. 

Jegal Sung continued the discussion. 

“Huh, then are you saying that attack was from either the Buddhist Star or the Sword Star?”

Woon-seong frowned. “Buddhist martial arts become stronger the more they train their merits. But the trace was distinctive from Buddhist arts.”

“Then the Sword Star…” Bright Rock said in a blank voice. 

The Sword Star had been respected by all sword users in Murim for generations. As the head of the Mount Hua Sect, the Sage Myung Am naturally also respected the Sword Star. 

It was hard for him to believe, but he would be entirely disappointed if he heard Woon-seong confirm it was so. 

Fortunately, Woon-seong shook his head once more. 

“It’s not the Sword Star either. I haven’t seen the Sword Star’s martial arts, but he uses the Sword Clan’s martial arts, right?”

“Yes, that’s true. I’ve seen the Sword Star some years ago and the feeling was clearly the Sword Clan’s martial style.”

“Then it’s certainly not the Sword Star.”

Jegal Sung sighed deeply. “Huh, it’s a good thing that it wasn’t either of them. Then who has done that to the Calling Sword Sect? Did another one in the realm of Semi-Divinity appear?”

Hearing that, Woon-seong muttered to himself, “No, I don’t think it’s a new person. The trace seemed more like a person from the past…”

Everyone suddenly hyper-focused on Woon-seong’s every word. 

He was the zenith of the 100,000 demonic cultivators, the Heavenly Demon, as well as the successor to the vast knowledge of the Spear Master Sect. 

Jegal Sung had excellent knowledge in martial arts, but his achievements were likely lower than Woon-seong’s. 

Perhaps, as someone with greater cultivation, the sword traces had made him think differently. 

So the words that Woon-seong would say would be an important clue in finding the attacker’s identity. 

Woon-seong looked up, noticing everyone staring at him. He shrugged. 

After that, he collected his thoughts. 

“I don’t know who has done it. But everyone saw the slaughtered bodies in that place.”

Woon-seong paused and the others nodded, their expressions solemn. 

The bodies had been a gruesome sight. 

There was not a single one of them who had not seen the bodies. 

“Their bodies were cut clean, but the movement of the martial art which brought death upon them wasn’t clean.”

“What are you trying to say?”

It was hard for Jegal Sung to believe that the movements by the unknown assailant had not been clean. 

Everyone else titled their heads in confusion too. 

“There’s a difference between a clear cut and a clear movement. But those wounds can’t be from the sword of a third-rate martial artist.”

Everyone focused on Woon-seong’s words.

“A person who learns a third-rate art can never reach the realm of Semi-Divinity. Most people say ‘as soon as you comprehend the true meaning of swordsmanship, you comprehend Heaven, earth, and man’. But do you agree with that?”

No one responded so Woon-seong continued. 

“A third-rate art is just that, third-rate. Maybe they can reach the Absolute Realm, but even if the ‘Swordsmanship of Heaven, Earth, and Man’ is the best martial art amongst the third-rates, that is the limit. Third-rates will never reach the realm of Semi-Divinity.”

The Sage of Bright Rock, who understood Woon-seong’s words, asked, “But what if someone in the realm of Semi-Divinity used third-rate martial arts?”

Woon-seong shook his head. “If someone like that used third-rate arts, their movements will naturally not be third-rate. Because their enlightenment will improve the third-rate movement, transforming it to above third-rate.”

“Then who can leave traces like those behind?” Bright Rock asked, looking at Woon-seong for an answer.

However, his eyes trembled, as if noticing that Woon-seong had prepared an answer. 

“There’s two possibilities. One is a person who reached the realm of Semi-Divine had some fun and played around with them…”

“Or the martial art that he learned is from the ancient times,” finished Jegal Sung. 

Woon-seong looked up at Jegal Sung, while the other two glanced at Woon-seong. 

Woon-seong nodded. “Humans created martial arts to train their body by mimicking nature.”

That was the origin of martial arts. 

Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism were added to martial arts later, as Murim developed into a true society. 

Then, what was martial arts like before that?

Mimicking the animals that were around. That was the beginning of martial arts.

Hunt like a tiger, run like horse, be grand like a bear, hard as a turtle, etc…

There were many animals stronger than humans in this world, so humans learned to imitate them. 

Higher-dimensional skills, ones that produced lightning or fire, emerged after that. 

But the arts that mimicked animals were very rough. 

They copied animal movements, but they weren’t perfect, due to the lack of sharpness in their eyes. 

However, there were talented ones amongst them. 

Also at that time, the Heavenly Gate was opened wider, so the concentration of available qi was higher. 

Therefore, whenever talented people thrived in high density of qi, they entered the realm of Semi-Divinity. 

“In other words, even though the martial arts weren’t refined, there were people who reached the realm of Semi-Divinity.”

“Then are you saying that an ancient martial artist has appeared again?”

Woon-seong shrugged. 

It’s just an assumption and I don’t have the evidence to prove it. 

Also, the Heavenly Gate is narrowed in the present.

So even if someone learned the ancient arts, I don’t think they would be able to reach Semi-Divinity. 

It wouldn’t be possible even if they were Bodhidharma or Zhang Sanfeng. 

It would be more believable if someone said there was a new Semi-Divine Being that was inhuman. 

Then who the hell…?

It was clear there was a problem, whether the arts were ancient or not. 

Woon-seong closed his eyes and thought. 

Jegal Sung, too, closed his eyes, going through a list of possible people. 

When the two men proficient in martial arts closed their eyes, the remaining two could do nothing. 

In the meantime, the wagon carried them to King Jinseong’s Palace. 

King JInseong’s Palace was not very large. 

Rather, it was a bit shabby for a king. 

It was neither glamour nor grand, but it did not lose its dignity. 

It was not hard to enter the palace. 

The guard at the gate easily recognized Do Jin-myung and opened the gate. But he did not forget about the existence of the three others. 

“You are here, Master. By the way, who are these…”

“There are His Highness’s guests.”

Although Do Jin-myung had explained their presence, the guard was still cautious. 

A soldier who is watchful. Not bad, Woon-seong commented. 

Even if these guards did not receive proper martial arts training, they seemed to be powerful. It was obvious that they had been trained by King Jinseong’s Palace. 

Meanwhile, someone came out and greeted them. 

“The King is waiting for you.”

Do Jin-myung praised his master as he gestured to the guide. “Haha, since the visitors were special, the King sent a guide to us.”

The group was soon led by the guide to the part of the palace. 

And there, Woon-seong met the man for the first time. 

“Nice to meet you. It could not have been easy to come here, but you did.”

The Emperor’s brother, King Jinseong.