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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Awakening (1)
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In a bustling inn where business was always booming, there were always storytellers who traded entertaining tales and songs for a drink and a meal.
They were an indispensable presence, especially in North Sea Star City, infamous for its long, harsh nights.
"Esteemed heroes, if you don't mind, may I share an intriguing story with you?"
Sogang, a storyteller who roamed from North Sea Star City as far as the northern regions of the Central Plains, approached with a flourish.
Just then, the inn was unusually packed with martial artists.
"Go ahead and spin your yarn. If it catches my fancy, I'll cover your drinks and food... and toss in a silver coin to boot."
Thud!
A burly giant with a beard as thick as Zhang Fei's from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms pulled out a silver coin and slapped it on the table.
His flushed face and half-lidded eyes made it clear he was thoroughly drunk.
Emboldened by the booze, he'd offered up silver—a rarity for dealings with storytellers.
Sogang's eyes gleamed with greed, his expression turning deadly serious.
"Very well. I'll give it a shot."
Sogang racked his brains, sifting through the stories he knew for the most captivating one.
Most of the audience today were martial artists, and they loved nothing more than...
"I'll tell you about the strongest martial artist in the history of the jianghu."
The most primal topic of all.
Who was the strongest fighter out there?
It was a tale any man, warrior or not, couldn't resist.
Ooooh!
Sogang's gambit hit the mark. The hairy giant and everyone else in the inn erupted in excitement.
"The strongest in jianghu history—who do you think it is?"
Sogang, having told this tale countless times on his way to North Sea Star City, proceeded with expert finesse.
"Of course it's Zhang Sanfeng True Person, founder of the Wudang Sect!"
"No way! The Shaolin Temple outranks Wudang—the Dharma Patriarch who founded it is the greatest!"
"Bah! The youngest supreme under the heavens who saved the Central Plains from evil demonic cults, the tragic genius who died too young—the White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi is the true pinnacle!"
Opinions flew every which way, but none matched what Sogang had in mind.
Or more precisely, they were just spouting whatever they wanted to believe.
"Excellent suggestions, all. Everywhere I go in the Central Plains, folks name Zhang Sanfeng True Person, the Dharma Patriarch, and White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi. But none of them are right."
One surefire way to hook an audience: flatly deny the popular consensus.
Ooooh!
No sooner had Sogang spoken than the rough-and-tumble warriors reacted with fervor.
For a martial artist, their strongest hero was like a personal talisman—naturally, they'd bristle at contradiction.
Yet Sogang stood firm.
"Those three are truly exceptional warriors, but my question concerns the absolute strongest in the entire history of the Central Plains martial world—righteous sects, unorthodox factions, and even the Demonic Cult included. There's only one answer."
Sogang, slight of build and gaunt from days without proper meals, made his eyes sparkle.
"The Heavenly Demon—and of course, the First Heavenly Demon!"
The Demonic Cult had fallen into ruin, and now any thug claimed the title of Heavenly Demon. But only the First Heavenly Demon truly deserved it.
He was the one and only, the supreme from past to present.
"Hmph!"
"The First Heavenly Demon?!"
The giants' faces twisted subtly at the mention of the Heavenly Demon—especially the First.
A keen observer like Sogang would have caught the warning signs, but alas, he idolized the First Heavenly Demon.
"Only the First Heavenly Demon is the true Heavenly Demon! He ascended beyond the Martial God realm of the Dharma Patriarch and Zhang Sanfeng True Person—to the divine realm of the Heavenly God. And that's not all!"
Sogang began to intoxicate himself with his own tale.
He always did this.
The moment the First Heavenly Demon came up, he lost all restraint.
"The First Heavenly Demon forced the so-called youngest supreme under the heavens—White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi, whose innate talent outshone even the Dharma Patriarch and Zhang Sanfeng—to sacrifice his life for the Demon Sealing Sword Array. That array that conjures the immense Eternal Ice to seal away its foe."
There wasn't a shred of falsehood in his words.
Baek Un-hwi, the youngest supreme, had traded his life for the Demon Sealing Sword Array, halting the First Heavenly Demon and the Demonic Cult's ambitions of conquering the Central Plains.
"And by sheer coincidence, the place where the First Heavenly Demon was sealed is right here in North Sea Star City. So let me tell you the full story..."
Just as Sogang was about to dive into the epic clash between the First Heavenly Demon and White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi...
Kaboom!
The hairy brute—Great Power Sword Suppressor Jin Ung, whose face had been subtly contorted—slammed the table in rage.
The inn's tables were made of sturdy black ironwood, yet it crumbled instantly under Jin Ung's blow.
'A... a master! A first-rate one at that!'
Sogang finally snapped out of his story and faced reality.
Staring at the scene before him, he couldn't believe it.
Great Power Sword Suppressor Jin Ung and his entire group had risen in fury.
"If I may, what is your honorable name...?"
"I am Great Power Sword Suppressor Jin Ung of the North Sword Sect!"
The North Sword Sect, one of North Sea Star City's many factions.
It had suffered heavy losses from the Demonic Cult led by the First Heavenly Demon in the past.
No wonder they despised tales of the First Heavenly Demon.
"Ahhh!"
Sogang belatedly realized his blunder.
"Forgive me. In my foolishness, I spoke out of turn."
Sogang knew some martial arts, but only third-rate. He couldn't handle even one of them, let alone the nearly twenty strong.
He flattened himself on the ground, abandoning any thought of resistance or flight.
"Have mercy. I'll leave quietly."
As a storyteller, Sogang's job was to immerse his audience. The moment they felt anger or disgust, he'd failed.
He hadn't realized they were North Sword Sect warriors.
Today wasn't his day. He bowed repeatedly in apology, backing away—
Thwack!
But the North Sword Sect men showed no mercy, stomping him mercilessly.
"Aaaagh! Forgive me!"
Sogang's screams echoed, yet not a soul in the inn intervened.
The North Sword Sect wielded immense influence in the area, and Jin Ung was a fierce first-rate master—too tough to challenge.
"Urgh..."
Even as Sogang meekly admitted his fault and begged for mercy, Jin Ung didn't relent.
Under the brutal beating, Sogang's eyes rolled back; he was on the verge of passing out.
"You love the First Heavenly Demon that much? Then off to where the Heavenly Demon croaked. We'll toss you in there too."
"Hahaha!"
Jin Ung's threat drew laughter from his crew.
Drunk and uninhibited for the first time in ages, they'd long forgotten any code of conduct.
Besides, it was late night, and North Sea's nights were colder than a freezer.
Especially near the Eternal Ice—even locals avoided it.
"Pl... please... spare..."
Sogang clung to fading consciousness, pleading desperately.
Thwack!
Each plea earned him only contemptuous blows.
Thus, Sogang was dragged away by the North Sword Sect mob.
Drip... drip!
Droplets of his blood stained the pristine snowfields iconic of North Sea Star City.
'Ahh, my loose tongue got me into this.'
Those who thrive by their mouths perish by them—who said that?
Sogang regretted it deeply.
Then another thought struck him.
'No. My mouth may have erred, but it wasn't a capital crime. I'm dying because... I have no power. Because I'm weaker than them.'
Trickle!
With that realization, tears streamed down his face unbidden.
Truth be told, Sogang's dream wasn't to be a moth-like storyteller scraping by on tales.
'I wanted to be a mighty warrior like the First Heavenly Demon.'
Sogang hailed from what was known as the First Heavenly Demon's birthplace—now called Heavenly Demon Village.
Unlike the Heavenly Demon, though, he had no talent for martial arts and never joined a proper sect.
All he knew was playing the pipa and reciting jianghu tales.
"Crying? Puhaha! Look, the bastard's bawling!"
"Hahaha!"
The North Sword Sect crew mocked Sogang, who wailed like a pig to the slaughter.
Their jeers stabbed at his heart again and again.
Whoooosh!
As they bantered, they arrived at the Eternal Ice where the First Heavenly Demon was said to be trapped by the Demon Sealing Sword Array.
This place was called Fallen Demon Valley—where the demon had fallen.
Filled with Eternal Ice, the valley plunged into an unfathomable abyss.
"Hey, you idiot. For nearly 200 years, countless people have scoured this Eternal Ice in Fallen Demon Valley, but they've found neither the First Heavenly Demon nor a single hair of his. The Heavenly Demon perished with White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi in mutual destruction. Got it?"
Great Power Sword Suppressor Jin Ung yanked Sogang up by the hair and bellowed.
Perhaps because the area was so vast and wild.
It wasn't suited for proper exploration from the start.
"So the First Heavenly Demon was just a pathetic figure defeated by Hero Baek Un-hwi. No wonder there's no sign of him or his nonsense Eternal Ice."
"Urgh!"
Sogang ached to deny it amid the pain, but he was helpless.
Once, enthusiasts and devotees like Sogang had searched frantically for the First Heavenly Demon, trapped somewhere in the massive Eternal Ice. But as Jin Ung said, nothing turned up.
Thus, conservative historians concluded the First Heavenly Demon and White Dragon Sword God Baek Un-hwi had died together—or vanished together.
It was right then.
"The Heavenly Demon... the First Heavenly Demon... is surely slumbering somewhere here. Defeated by Hero Baek? Wrong. He merely used his life as a medium to seal him!"
Sogang, who'd endured silently till now, lifted his head and voiced his conviction for the first time.
'If I'm to die anyway, let me go with dignity.'
A reckless courage welled up from his chest.
"You dare!"
Jin Ung flew into a rage, stomping Sogang viciously several more times.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Sogang no longer cried or writhed in agony.
From the moment he realized they craved not a sincere apology, but his breakdown and suffering—he refused to give them the satisfaction.
"This guy's totally brainwashed."
"Think he's a Demonic Cult survivor?"
"Nah, survivors aren't this weak."
The North Sword Sect warriors shook their heads as they beat him.
They hadn't expected him to grow defiant upon reaching Fallen Demon Valley's Eternal Ice.
"Grgh..."
But that defiance was short-lived.
Beaten to a pulp with no unbroken bones left, Sogang could only yield to their lead.
"Alright, grab hold. Time to hurl this First Heavenly Demon nut into the Eternal Ice below."
Under Jin Ung's command, the North Sword Sect men seized Sogang's limbs, ready to toss him.
"Farewell."
"Sweet dreams."
"In your next life, join hands with the First Heavenly Demon and ascend to nirvana."
"Puhahaha!"
As Jin Ung and his men jeered and prepared to fling Sogang into the thousand-foot chasm...
Flash!
In the pitch-black North Sea night, where only reflected snow ice gleamed...
Suddenly, a light flickered from the bottomless valley depths.
And the real astonishment began.
Shwoooosh!
The faint glow intensified, streaking upward like a meteor.
Unlike a true meteor falling from sky to earth, this mysterious light rose from below.
"Wha? What the...?"
"Senior Brother Jin Ung! Look down there!"
The North Sword Sect warriors spotted it and called to Jin Ung.
"What is that?"
Jin Ung stared in confusion, and the light finally...
Kaboom!
...hurtled straight into the midst of the North Sword Sect men surrounding Sogang, revealing itself.
Incredibly, emerging from the fading, crumbling glow was...
"A... a person?"
"A person?!"
He looked late teens, maybe twenty.
His upturned eyes gave him a fierce air—his only flaw—but he was a strikingly handsome young noble, clad in ancient, time-worn robes on the verge of disintegration.
"Who the hell are you?"
Jin Ung demanded, flustered.
Flash!
In response to the question, the youth opened his eyes and declared his identity.
"I am... the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon."