-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 003
Chapter Title: Heavenly Martial Body
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"No way. No, that can't be!"
I shot up from my seat.
I thought it was a lie.
But the vivid afterimage floating before my eyes felt like I'd been practicing that martial art every single day until just yesterday.
'I might be able to do it... No, I can do it.'
I picked up a slender strand of rice straw from the ground.
I stared at it intently for a long while.
If what was surfacing in my mind was real.
If this was truly happening.
"Let's try it."
I assumed the stance.
It came so naturally, as if I'd done it thousands of times before.
Just like Dang Sowee had done moments ago, I dragged my toes to set my stance.
My center of gravity shifted smoothly from my back foot to my front.
I spun the dagger once, gripping it in the center as if a snake's mouth were coiling around it, and hurled it forward—!
*Clang!!!*
"...Ha, haha."
It was a rice straw so thin it couldn't even snap a dandelion.
Yet it stood rigid, deeply embedded in the barn wall.
*Swish*
A faint pink smoke, unique to plum blossoms, flickered at the tip of the straw before scattering into the air.
No doubt about it.
This spreading plum blossom scent.
It was a technique unique to the Huashan Sect.
Of course, with almost no internal energy infused, its power was less than a tenth of what Dang Sowee had demonstrated.
But there was no question—this was the Huashan Sect's technique from one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang: Plum Blossom Spinning Dagger.
"Huh, heh... heuk."
Tears welled up in my eyes unbidden.
I held back the urge to wail.
I bit my lip until it bled and clamped my hand over my mouth.
Burying my head in my chest, I muffled myself.
"Huh, hngh... hng."
What was happening to me?
All the pent-up resentment from years of being denied knowledge poured out like a waterfall.
I'd been chased out dozens of times after rummaging through moldy books in markets, hoping for even a third-rate sword manual.
The secret manual I'd scraped together half a year's wages for turned out to be fake after the first couple of pages.
I'd lived a life parched for learning.
*Splash*
In one corner of the barn, wastewater had pooled, reflecting the blue moonlight.
My face stared back at me from it.
In the corner of my black pupil, a red glow that hadn't fully faded was cooling like a heated sword, turning black amid faint wisps of smoke.
'Something's happened to my body.'
Ever since that Red Mask assassin tried to kill me.
[So unjust... We'll devour it all.]
The ghostly voice echoing persistently in my head.
It was the voice that had told me to reach out.
[No matter what... someday... no matter the cost.]
At first, it wasn't really language—just a resentful spirit muttering meaningless strings of words.
But as time passed, the once-fuzzy voice grew clearer and more distinct.
"Maybe."
Talking to it felt possible now.
"Was that you, the voice that told me to reach for the orb back then?"
[Orb...? You mean the jewel.]
Surprisingly, the voice responded to my question.
It was emotionless, flat, without any highs or lows.
But unlike the initial ghostly mutterings, it now spoke like a full-fledged entity.
"Yeah. The jewel."
I recalled biting down on the black orb with my teeth after my arms were severed.
Had I bitten too hard? It had shattered into pieces in my mouth.
[I was sealed in the jewel alongside the soul of the Demonic Cult's first leader. When the jewel broke, all my memories blurred... But yes, probably.]
"...What?"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"The Demonic Cult's first leader?"
[The founder of the Cheonmashingyo, known in the martial world as the Heavenly Demon.]
I blinked.
What nonsense was this?
"What the hell are you saying? Cheonmashingyo? You mean the Demonic Cult?"
[Yes.]
I stammered in confusion.
"Make sense. That golden dragon holding the orb is the Moyong Family's sacred treasure. Mother said she gave it to me. Logically, there's no way the Moyong Family's treasure would be holding a Demonic Cult jewel."
[I don't know what happened in the outside world while I slumbered. But one thing is certain: my presence here, speaking to you, proves that orb was the Heavenly Demon Jewel.]
"Ha, this is insane."
What could I even say?
I swallowed dryly.
"So, you're saying you're sealed with the Heavenly Demon. What exactly are you, then? You're not claiming to be the Heavenly Demon yourself, are you?"
[I am...]
The voice hesitated, unable to continue for a moment.
"You don't even know who you are?"
[The jewel shattered, mixing everything up. With the host's sense of self and body, too.]
It continued calmly.
[I don't know who I am, either. Maybe just a fragment of the Heavenly Demon sealed in the jewel... or perhaps one of his closest subordinates from life, sealed alongside to aid his resurrection... I don't know. All that's left strongly is the Heavenly Demon's final dying wish, right before the jewel broke.]
I collapsed in a daze.
If this voice was telling the truth, then the jewel harboring the Demonic Cult leader's soul had shattered inside me, blending and merging with my body.
The thing speaking in my head now was some lingering spirit from that jewel, a remnant of the Heavenly Demon.
My head felt like it would explode from the confusion.
[Normally, the moment the host grasped the jewel, possession and assimilation would occur, along with lending and expansion of the foundation. The host's body would be restructured to the Heavenly Demon's prime, and all his martial arts, memories, and self would overwrite the host in one go. That was the intent when the jewel was made—for the Heavenly Demon to descend again in a fresh young body.]
It called me the host.
[But you bit and shattered the orb with your teeth, ruining everything. The body integration halted midway, and all the Heavenly Demon's martial arts—even his self—were lost.]
"So the martial art I copied just now was from the jewel's power?"
[That was the Heavenly Demon's most defining ability and identity in life.]
I rubbed my eyes.
While executing the copied Huashan technique, Plum Blossom Spinning Dagger, both my pupils had turned red.
Blood-red eyes that didn't look human.
[We'll talk details later. I'm sleepy.]
The voice refused further conversation.
[My self is too incomplete now. Influenced by the host in parts, by the Heavenly Demon in others... Probably from the jewel breaking.]
"Wait, just one more thing."
This felt off.
I had to confirm this.
"That final dying wish of the Heavenly Demon, the first leader, that lingered so strongly—what is it?"
The voice replied tonelessly.
[Survive. Rip them apart. Devour the host. By any means necessary. Satisfied?]
A chill ran down my spine.
This dry voice merely stated its thoughts calmly and methodically.
Dangerous.
I felt it etched into my bones: this thing couldn't be trusted.
[Then I'm off. Host.]
"What should I call you? If I have questions, I need to know how to summon you."
I couldn't consult anyone about this. Every bit of info mattered.
To me now, this voice was my only outlet for answers.
[When even I don't know what I am, a name means nothing.]
"Just pick something!"
[...]
It fell silent for a moment.
[Moomyeong.]
"Moomyeong?"
[Yes. It fits me best right now.]
With that, the voice vanished.
At the same moment, my pupils returned from red to their original black.
"This can't be real."
I shook off the daze.
Coming to my senses, I realized my body now hosted the Heavenly Demon's remnant, which called me host.
And I'd gained the Heavenly Demon's power.
'I can copy any martial art I've seen once.'
It wasn't perfect—I'd replicated Dang Sowee's technique almost exactly, but the quality felt inferior to the original.
Still, compared to what I'd gained, it was negligible.
I could improve the lower quality through gritted teeth, relentless practice.
In this world, where people killed for a single high-grade manual, I knew that better than anyone, having clawed from the bottom, thirsting for knowledge.
This was an opportunity.
A new starting point, worlds apart from my hopeless former life.
I could refine copied martial arts with training.
And the ability to copy meant something more.
"It's the first time."
My heart began to race.
"The first time."
For once, I could see the path: do this, grow like that.
'I can't let this chance slip.'
I clenched my trembling fist.
Until moments ago, I'd planned to beg the Eighth Elder come morning, swearing I'd never set foot in the Moyong Family again, anything to save my skin.
But I'd changed my mind.
The bowl was already spilled.
I'd hidden in this rural backwater for so long, hoping time would fix things.
Mother froze to death.
I'd lived like less than dirt.
In the end, nothing resolved.
Running solved nothing.
No more running.
Face it head-on, break through.
'Riding the tiger's back.'
Even with the Heavenly Demon's power, without a status to support and wield it, it was useless.
I needed a body honed to develop this power, and the backing and training environment.
Even once would do.
I'd persuade the Eighth Elder.
He didn't know anything yet.
If he told me to kneel, I would.
If he made me lick his shoes, I would.
Anything to survive.
Then head somewhere with high-grade martial arts to witness, a place to build my strength and learn.
There, I could surely grow.
Into a powerhouse no one else could dream of.
I could see the future.
Hope sparked.
The stairs upward loomed distant but clear—a first in my life.
The damp pre-dawn chill of the semi-basement barn was nothing.
'I must persuade the Eighth Elder.'
Clutching my chest tight with tension, morning broke.
"Here he is."
The door opened, revealing an elderly man with white beard reaching his chest.
A tall figure with dignified bearing.
"You're sure? The Family Head's bloodline."
"Yes, there was a minor incident on the way, but fortunately, he was brought back unharmed, Eighth Elder."
Our eyes met.
His gaze on me—clad in vomit-stained clothes reeking of blood and filth—was utterly vacant.
"Were there witnesses on the way here?"
He spoke as if handling an object, not even seeing me as Moyong blood.
"None. We locked him straight in the barn as fast as possible."
"Understood."
Moyong Taese turned to the warriors.
"A shameful flaw must be quietly buried, like moisture seeping into dry earth."
A chill gripped my spine.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"Wait!"
Moyong Taese pointed at me and commanded.
"Kill him. Dissolve the corpse with lime so not even a bone fragment remains."
"Understood."
The warriors seized my arms.
"Ah."
A gag was stuffed in my mouth.
My mind went blank.
No chance to persuade?
Dying like this?
I'd just grasped the thread to freedom, my first real break.
It couldn't end so pointlessly.
I thrashed with all my might.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Argh, seriously."
A fist slammed into my gut.
"Guhk."
I vomited bile and was subdued.
As they dragged me limp—
"Moyong Taese, hold on a moment."
A man in white martial robes, with a short beard, halted everyone.
"Yaowang Tang Leader. What is it?"
"That child."
The Yaowang Tang Leader pointed at me.
He eyed my exposed, toned body through the torn clothes from my struggles.
His gaze quickly scanned my face—precisely my solar plexus—and my muscles and bones.
"No way...!"
The Yaowang Tang Leader shoved the warriors aside. His hand shot to my wrist, checking my pulse.
"I suspected, but this..."
His eyes bulged as he groped me all over.
His hands flew across my body, even sniffing the dried pus or black blood crusted on my clothes.
The Yaowang Tang Leader rapidly probed my musculature and joints.
Moyong Taese watched, first puzzled, then realizing the implications.
Time dragged on.
Finally, the Yaowang Tang Leader looked up at Moyong Taese.
"Elder, you can't kill this child."
Moyong Taese's bushy white eyebrows twitched.
"What did you say?"
The Yaowang Tang Leader declared.
"I know the Second Wife's influence in this matter. But it's too much of a waste to kill him like this."
"What?"
Fierce internal energy surged from Moyong Taese.
"Have you lost your mind? Whose influence? How dare you spout such nonsense before me!?"
The Yaowang Tang Leader faced them squarely, enunciating each word.
"This child... has the Heavenly Martial Body."