The Celestial Realm.
It was a bright, sunny day—perfect weather, perfect mood.
"…Wait, General, did I hear you correctly?"
Baek Ri-won, a Divine General of the Celestial Army, stared at his superior with his mouth hanging open.
"What exactly did you hear?"
"You're ordering me to descend to the mortal realm and capture a criminal?"
"Mm. You heard right. That's exactly what I'm telling you to do."
The one who replied so casually was none other than the Supreme Commander of the Celestial Army, known as the Battle Immortal—Prince Nata.
Baek Ri-won let out a dry laugh at his superior's outrageous command.
And then—
"Are you kidding me?!"
Bang!
He slammed his hands on the desk and shot to his feet.
"Descend to the human world? I've only been an immortal for a few hundred years!"
Baek Ri-won had not been born in the Celestial Realm—he was once an ordinary human.
A martial wanderer who roamed the rivers and lakes with nothing but a spear in hand.
But with just that, he had achieved countless feats.
He stopped fanatics who sought to drench the world in blood and led the righteous to victory in the Great War between Good and Evil.
He founded the Martial Alliance, becoming its first leader, and even defeated the so-called Demon Lord—hailed as the most evil man under heaven.
With his own power alone, he negotiated with the Emperor to enshrine the principle of "No interference between officials and the martial world" into law.
He was the Supreme of the Martial World, a living god.
No one could match him, and every day, countless people lined up at his gates, begging to become his disciple.
Thus the people called him the Divine Spear.
That was the kind of man Baek Ri-won was. And so, within only a few hundred years of ascending to immortality, he had risen to the rank of general in the Celestial Army.
"Calm down. You can come back up anytime once the mission's over."
"But couldn't someone else handle it?"
"The fugitive who escaped to the human realm is no ordinary criminal. He's a monster who's been around since the Age of Enshrinement. Even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, who happened to be nearby, failed to stop his escape in time and was injured enough to retreat."
"…And you want me to catch him?"
Baek Ri-won let out a dry laugh.
The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was considered one of the Celestial Realm's three strongest forces—right alongside the man standing before him, Prince Nata, and General Erang Jin.
And yet, they were telling him to go capture an enemy even the Great Sage couldn't stop?
"This is basically sending me to my death."
"Death? Don't be dramatic. I'm sending you because you're the most suited for the job."
Prince Nata massaged his temple and explained.
"The Honcheon Demon escaped to the human realm. He reincarnated as a human to get out of the Celestial Realm. Which means… you'll have to fight him down there."
"Then isn't that even easier? We could just all go down together and—"
"That's exactly what he wants. If the Celestial Realm's battle immortals all storm into the human world at once, it'll shatter the balance there and plunge the world back into chaos."
"Ugh… So I have to go alone? And I have to reincarnate as a human to do it?"
"Exactly. That's the only way to catch him without upsetting the balance of the mortal realm."
Baek Ri-won sighed and asked—
"Why me, of all people?"
"Because you're the most suited."
Prince Nata replied.
"No—let me put it more accurately. You're the strongest. Among the Celestial Realm's battle immortals, if we remove divine authority from the equation, there's no one who can match you in a fair fight."
"Well… that's true, but—"
"You've only been in the Celestial Realm for a few hundred years, yet you've already grown strong enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with divine generals who've lived for thousands of years. I see potential in you."
Prince Nata's expression was deadly serious as he continued.
"Of course, I'm not going to tell you to go without offering something in return."
"Oh? So there's a reward?"
"Yes. If you finish the job properly, I'll grant you the title of Grand General."
"…!"
This time, it was Baek Ri-won's turn to be shocked.
The position of Grand General in the Celestial Realm was far too exalted for an immortal only a few centuries old. Even immortals who had lived since the Age of Enshrinement had failed to attain such a title. And now he was offering it to him?
"That's not all. I'll also give you three Heavenly Peaches personally cultivated by the Queen Mother of the West, as well as a precious Celestial Treasure. And I mean give, not lend."
"…!"
Baek Ri-won's eyes went wide.
The Heavenly Peach was the finest of the peaches cultivated by the Queen Mother—so precious that even an ordinary mortal who took a single bite could become an immortal.
And as for a Celestial Treasure? Production of those had long ceased, and only a handful remained in existence. Yet he was offering one as a reward?
"Of course, if you don't want to—"
"I'll do it!"
Baek Ri-won slammed his hands on the desk with a thud, worried Prince Nata might change his mind.
A wry smile spread across the prince's face. He clapped his hands once.
"Good. Then we'll start right away."
"…Pardon?"
Just as Baek Ri-won tilted his head in confusion, his vision suddenly spun.
It felt exactly like the time, back in his mortal days, when he'd drunk himself senseless.
Baek Ri-won—
In the haze of his fading consciousness, Baek Ri-won could still hear Prince Nata's voice.
"When you wake up, you'll find yourself in a human body. Because the flow of time is different, you'll probably arrive a few years later than the Honcheon Demon, so keep that in mind."
"So… who exactly is the Honcheon Demon—?"
"That, we don't know either. You'll have to find out for yourself who they've reincarnated as. The only clue we have is… they're somehow connected to the martial world."
…This immortal, seriously?
He wanted to give the man a piece of his mind, but the drowsiness was too overwhelming.
Baek Ri-won lost his balance and sank into the depths of slumber.
Pitch-black darkness welcomed him.
"…Young master. Young master Won!"
A voice was calling out to him.
With great effort, Baek Ri-won pried open his heavy eyelids.
"Thank goodness! You've finally woken up!"
In front of him was a slightly chubby boy.
Probably… the servant of this "body"?
Judging from the genuine relief on the boy's face, their relationship didn't seem bad. Most likely a loyal one.
Assessing the situation, Baek Ri-won pushed himself up from the bed.
Fortunately, the room had a mirror, allowing him to check his appearance.
Hmm.
Long limbs, a fairly handsome face.
About… fifteen years old, maybe?
Strangely enough, he looked exactly like his younger self. Had the Celestial Realm deliberately chosen a host with a similar appearance?
No… more likely, this body just happened to be someone named "Won," since the boy had called him that earlier.
"You there, kid."
When you don't know something, it's always better to ask than to sit around wondering.
Baek Ri-won turned to the boy—who was still grinning from ear to ear—and began asking for some explanations.
He asked.
Who he was, and where exactly this place was.
"What? You really don't remember anything? Not even the fact that you suddenly collapsed after being struck by lightning while passing by?"
"That's right. So hurry up and explain it to me."
According to the boy—whose name turned out to be Ah-cheong—this was the situation:
His name was still Baek Ri-won.
Apparently, he had ended up in the bloodline of the Baekri Clan, which used to be his family in the past.
However, there was a problem—his social standing.
Baek Ri-won was a direct descendant of the clan, yes… but not the legitimate heir. He was born of a concubine.
Because of that, he had always been bullied within the clan, growing timid and withdrawn.
Baek Ri-won let out a dry chuckle.
Timid?
Him?
If there was anyone in the world furthest from the word "timid," it was him.
Otherwise, back in his human days, he never would have charged into the Imperial Palace armed with nothing but a single spear.
And bullied, huh?
Well… illegitimate children being bullied was nothing new.
Picking on those weaker than yourself was practically human nature, and it happened all the time.
The real issue, however, was that the current clan head had publicly declared that the position of Young Clan Leader would go not to the firstborn, but to the most capable child.
That included him—the illegitimate son.
And so, from that moment, opposition began to rise from all sides. If by chance he was born with exceptional martial talent, others feared he might take their rightful place.
Well… that's not really my problem.
That was only a problem for the original Baek Ri-won of this body.
But him? A Celestial General of the Heavenly Realm?
Getting bullied by ordinary humans?
Not a chance.
He didn't even want to imagine the ridicule he'd face from his fellow generals if that happened.
He'd simply deal with it the same way he did back when he was human.
More than anything, the problem is the Honcheon Demon…
In this vast world, finding the Honcheon Demon was an overwhelmingly daunting task.
The only bit of good news was that the other side didn't even know of his existence—at least, not yet.
If I can track them down properly, I can land a surprise blow.
Then the mission would be complete, and the life of a Grand General could begin.
Heh heh.
Baek Ri-won found himself laughing unconsciously.
Ah-cheong, beside him, wore a worried look, but he paid it no mind.
"Hey, Cheong. I'm hungry—how about bringing me some food? Make sure there's plenty of meat."
"You've just woken up after being struck by lightning and lying unconscious for days, and the first thing you want is food?"
"Well, obviously. If I've been out for days, of course the first thing I'd want is food. Isn't that natural?"
"Oh."
Ah-cheong made a face as if suddenly enlightened, then headed outside.
…He did look a little simple-minded, but that was none of Baek Ri-won's concern.
Now that I know the general situation, I should check the condition of this body.
But the inspection left him deeply disappointed.
To be honest, he'd been secretly expecting quite a bit from his own descendant… yet the condition of this body was clearly far below expectations.
Never mind the mediocre muscle and bone structure—there's no sign of any proper training at all.
Granted, not every heir of a martial clan trained diligently…
But this? This was unacceptable.
The dantian held no trace of inner energy, and even the outer body showed no sign of martial practice—just an utterly ordinary physique.
Considering he was the son of a martial household, it was almost as if someone had deliberately prevented him from training.
They must have suppressed his energy entirely to keep him out of the running for Young Clan Leader.
And if the story about being struck by lightning and bedridden for days was true, then his current health was far from good.
At this rate, he'd be lucky to manage thin porridge, let alone a hearty meat dish.
But just then—
A sudden flash appeared before his eyes, and with it… a single letter and a peach materialized out of nowhere.
Baek Ri-won read the letter and smirked.
It contained only a single line:
This should help with your mission. – Nata
As expected of His Highness, Prince Nata.
Such a deep affection for his subordinates.
Baek Ri-won's gaze shifted to the small peach in his hand.
Not even a celestial peach… just an ordinary spiritual fruit.
What he held couldn't compare in the slightest to a true peach of the heavens—it was a low-grade item.
Back when he was still a Divine General, eating it would've been practically useless.
Well, they do say if you regain your full strength all at once, the balance breaks and the world falls into chaos.
This was probably the best support Nata could give him under the circumstances.
Besides, it's still a fruit from the Heavenly Realm. For a human body, it should have considerable effects.
That should be more than enough to at least bring his current body up to the bare minimum.
With that thought, Baek Ri-won took a big bite of the peach.
Crunch.
As the sweet juice filled his mouth, the change in his body began.
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