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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Return
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"This is the last one."
The woman's voice echoed through the cave as she stood before the massive, pitch-black rock wall.
"So this is truly the final trial of the Heavenly Demon Great Hall, the Descent of the Wise King Wall?"
The woman turned at the dignified voice coming from behind her.
Torch flames pushed back the darkness from all sides, illuminating her figure.
Her pristine white silk robes, which must have once proclaimed her extraordinary status, were now caked in dirt and grime, a testament to the hardships endured to reach this place. Even the thin veil covering her face was filthy. Yet her eyes, brimming with wisdom, shone vividly with life.
"No doubt about it. This wall is the last."
"Then, once we pass this wall, we'll behold the legacies left by the Generation's Heavenly Demon, progenitor of the Heavenly Demon Cult!"
"Yes."
"Oh! Finally!"
A gasp of awe rose at the woman's certainty.
She turned to look. There, in the same shadowed space, stood the leading figures of the righteous and demonic factions of this era. United in purpose and will.
It was a sight the world would scarcely believe, given their history of constantly hunting each other's lives. But when shared goals and circumstances align, such unity becomes possible. The woman smiled faintly.
"I trust you'll honor our agreement."
The promise she spoke of was simple.
If they uncovered the supreme techniques of the Generation's Heavenly Demon within this hidden chamber of the Heavenly Demon Great Hall, they would study them together to thwart the current Heavenly Demon and the demonic cults' resurgence.
"It took seven nights and seven days to reach this point. Through that long journey, navigating the deadly traps lurking throughout the Heavenly Demon Great Hall together, our trust has only grown stronger."
The dignified voice spoke, followed by a gentle tone in agreement.
"Well said. I, Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang, trust in the sincerity Heaven-Rending Legion Kang has shown thus far."
Yi Jo-yang and Heaven-Rending Legion.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with Heaven-Rending Legion Kang Yi-wi would be none other than Volcanic Divine Sword Yi Jo-yang.
The pillar of the righteous sects and the leader of the demonic factions!
These two stood together, their gazes filled with mutual trust. The woman nodded at the sight.
"Understood. Now, I'll open the final trial, the Descent of the Wise King Wall. As you all know, the Wise King was the chief among the Twelve Demon Kings, the most devoted servant of the Generation's Heavenly Demon. Like in the 108 Demon Corps Formation, his corpse may manifest, so stay sharp."
The brutal battle against the 108 stiffened corpses in the 108 Demon Corps Formation.
Without the full-force alliance of Volcanic Divine Sword and Heaven-Rending Legion at the vanguard, half the people standing here now would have perished.
Recalling that, the group tensed and clustered tightly around Heaven-Rending Legion and Volcanic Divine Sword. With one last glance at them, the woman turned to the Descent of the Wise King Wall.
"Heaven and earth form the foundation of all things, the sun and moon bring forth change between yang and yin to nurture creation. Thus, where Qian and Kun meet is the center and origin of all hexagrams. The Gen hexagram symbolizes moon and water, the element of water in the five elements; Li symbolizes sun and fire, the element of fire..."
The woman murmured while examining the patterns carved into the massive, shadowy rock wall.
After a long while of scrutinizing and muttering, she firmly struck three points on the wall with her iron ruler. Each strike caused the points to sink inward, and friction from enormous boulders beyond the wall rumbled through. Soon, the rock wall began splitting into two halves.
Grgrgrgrgrung!
A deafening roar shook the entire cavern.
The woman leaped back, staring intently into the darkness beyond the parting Descent of the Wise King Wall.
'Generation's Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon Ancestor! That's where he entered eternal rest! The others must be there too!'
Her eyes shimmered with irrepressible anticipation and excitement.
Boom!
Something heavy dropped from the high ceiling.
A cloud of thick dust billowed, filling the air everywhere.
"Careful!"
With Volcanic Divine Sword's sharp warning, a gust of wind swept the dust to one side.
The revealed scene.
A shattered stone coffin, and before it, a towering monster standing tall.
The torchlight couldn't fully pierce the gloom around the monster, revealing only an inky-black face. But everyone's eyes were drawn not to his face, but to the weapon gripped in his hand—a massive crescent blade emitting a deep, near-black blue glow.
Its blade, three feet long, exuded an overwhelming menace.
"Wise King Crescent Blade!"
As someone groaned the words, the seven-foot-tall monster strode forward.
The Wise King, said to be the most loyal servant of the Generation's Heavenly Demon, the Heavenly Demon Ancestor.
He raised the Wise King Crescent Blade and advanced.
Those who had fought the 108 stiffened corpses in the 108 Demon Corps Formation couldn't help but tense up.
"I'll draw its eyes!"
"Then I'll strike from behind!"
As Volcanic Divine Sword and Heaven-Rending Legion united to assign roles, the others gripped their weapons, bracing for a fierce battle.
Woooong!
A massive resonance erupted from beyond the Descent of the Wise King Wall.
'Even the Generation's Heavenly Demon is awakening?'
The woman's horrified gaze turned toward the darkness where the Generation's Heavenly Demon was presumed to rest eternally. The others, preparing for battle, whipped around in shock. Even the stiffened Wise King halted.
The resonance shaking the cavern carried an overwhelming majesty.
"It's coming!"
Heaven-Rending Legion warned.
At that instant, a sudden explosion burst before them.
Kaboom!
With the blast, a figure flew like splintered firewood, slamming into the rock wall.
It was the Wise King.
No matter that he was a stiffened corpse, the Wise King was hurled away without even swinging his Wise King Crescent Blade once.
And then, another monster appeared.
Standing where the Wise King had been moments ago, surveying everyone. Clad in shabby, ordinary martial robes, with disheveled, unkempt hair.
"Who are you?"
Heaven-Rending Legion bellowed.
At that moment, the air around the monster churned violently.
Woooong!
"Everyone, careful!"
As Volcanic Divine Sword shouted, the turbulent air became a gale, sweeping everywhere and extinguishing the torches in unison.
Plunged into sudden darkness, the monster moved like a gale. An irresistible, terrifying aura followed, like an entire mountain range shifting at once, shoving everyone back.
At that very moment, the woman, sliding back, focused her eyes and pierced the darkness, tracking the monster's movements.
Her eyes gleamed pure white.
The Celestial Insight Bright Eyes, said to pierce all chaos in the human realm.
Captured in those eyes was the monster's face, moving like a towering mountain. Her luminously white eyes flickered with surprise, and the monster stared back at her before vanishing.
'Not the Heavenly Demon! Then who?'
As Celestial Insight Maiden Byeon Ryeo-gun's eyes widened in suspicion, the monster instantly disappeared toward the passage by which the righteous folk had entered.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Hunan Province, Zhangsa, Iron Lion Sect.
A plaque inscribed with bold, ornate, majestic script.
Yet the Iron Lion Sect's grounds were shrouded in a desolate air, as was typical of a sect that had declined through generations until hitting rock bottom.
At the hottest hour of midday.
A man with an ordinary face, his long hair casually tied back, stopped before the Iron Lion Sect gate and stared at the plaque for a long while.
His raised chin was resolute, but the temperament in his eyes was calm. Yet his inner thoughts betrayed a flicker of emotion.
'Three years, huh.'
Gazing at his sect's plaque, memories of his childhood bickering with fellow disciples brought a natural smile to his lips. But thinking of his master who had taken them all in, the smile faded, replaced by a determined expression.
"Master's lifelong wish to revive the Iron Lion Sect—I think I can make it happen."
His words carried confidence.
With a faint smile on his lips, he exuded an aura that made it seem inevitable.
Moments later, he averted his gaze from the plaque, pushed open the creaky, weathered front gate, and entered the compound. From outside, it looked forlorn, a monument to time's ravages, but inside the front courtyard was spotlessly clean, without a single weed—clearly tended by someone diligent.
The man strode onward.
Passing the front courtyard and reception hall, then through the moon gate after a long walk, a building with a small training ground appeared. The ground was firmly packed, evidence of recent practice.
"Yi Yeol's still at it, I see."
Glancing around the training ground, the man plopped down on the veranda, reminiscing about his youth until he lay sideways and stretched out.
"Feels good to be back after so long!"
Grinning broadly, the man quickly dozed off.
How long had he slept?
When the man opened his eyes, a small face was right in front of him, wide-eyed and peering closely. He gazed at it steadily, then feigned surprise.
"Am I in hell? Some yaksha staring at me... Ow!"
He'd teased her as a yaksha, and she pinched his cheek.
Only then did he grin sheepishly.
"Our little youngest sure has grown."
"You're really Big Brother, right?"
"Yeah. The one who just got his cheek pinched is your Big Brother."
As he smiled even brighter, sixteen-year-old Little Sparrow sniffled but held back tears.
"Our crybaby's really grown up."
"I'm not a crybaby."
"Got it, so let go now."
He pointed to her hand still pinching his cheek. She twisted harder before releasing.
"Penalty for breaking your promise to return in a year."
"Ow, that hurts. How'd your hands get so rough?"
"Had to toughen up taking care of Master and those good-for-nothing senior brothers in your place."
"Those guys haven't changed, huh?"
Suddenly, Little Sparrow's face hardened.
Puzzled, he asked,
"What's wrong?"
"Big Brother..."
"Yeah, tell me."
"We need to get Second Brother back."
"...?"
"We need to bring Second Brother back from the Sky-Spanning Gang."
"Sky-Spanning Gang? Why there?"
As he asked with intense curiosity, a late-teen man strode in through the moon gate. Burly build, drenched in sweat.
It was Iron Mountain, the third disciple of the Iron Lion Sect. But upon entering the front courtyard, he spotted them and charged with bulging eyes.
"What the fuck is this?!"
His nagging little sister was glued to some dark-haired guy—his eyes nearly popped out.
"It's Big Brother! Big Brother!"
Little Sparrow jumped up shouting, and Iron Mountain, mid-flying kick, flailed in the air trying to stop, then somehow landed as if pushed by a breeze.
"Fuck, almost killed Big Brother... When did you get here?"
Iron Mountain gawked at him. The man sat up, scowling.
"Watch your mouth. Hanging with those thugs?"
"Show up after three years and start nagging?"
"I told you not to hang with those guys."
"Life happens—you run into people."
"Those are inhuman scum."
"What makes us different? Our sect's so dead even stray dogs ignore it."
"Things'll change from now on. Stay away from them."
"Change? Back from wandering the world, learned some fancy kung fu? Show us if you did."
Iron Mountain sneered gruffly.
The man stood. Iron Mountain flinched and backed away hastily.
He suddenly remembered what kind of person his Big Brother was. Even at sixteen, he'd beaten up local thugs single-handedly. Despite their shared poverty, his fighting talent was innate—he could take on ten black道 riffraff alone.
He claimed it was from Master's training, but bullshit; he was born a fighter.
"From tomorrow, no more. Or you'll die."
"Won't happen, so ease up."
"Fine. Now tell me about Yi Yeol at the Sky-Spanning Gang. What happened?"
At his words, Iron Mountain stiffened and glanced at Little Sparrow.
"Big Brother needs to know."
She insisted firmly.
Iron Mountain hesitated, looking at him. The man spoke lowly, his voice heavier for it.
"Don't hide a thing."
"You really back for good?"
"Yes."
"Then Big Brother should know."
"...!"
"My fault. I was hanging with their crew, got into it with some guy. Beat him down, but turns out he was Sky-Spanning Gang. Fuckers swarmed us like dogs after the brawl. Thought we were dead, but their chief enforcer said since I crushed their pride, they'd pin it on the Iron Lion Sect."
"And?"
"It's bullshit. Just kids fighting, and he started it. Wouldn't listen."
Insisting it wasn't his fault, Iron Mountain saw his grave expression and hurried on.
"Then Second Brother showed up. Explained roughly, and he knelt right there. In front of everyone. Enforcer said kneeling wasn't enough; Master had stepped back from sect affairs, Big Brother was long gone, so all responsibility was his. He even banged his head on the ground."
"And?"
"And... Fuck, I was about to go berserk and kill them all, but Second Brother slapped me and said don't be stupid, go back to the sect and stay inside no matter what."
"...!"
"That day, they dragged Second Brother to Sky-Spanning Gang. Enforcer said their laws are strict, needs the gang leader's judgment..."
Iron Mountain trailed off, eyeing him.
Bracing for a beating, but the man just stared toward the moon gate.
"When did this happen?"
"Five days ago."
"What did Master say?"
"He doesn't know."
"What?"
"Second Brother said don't tell Master. Doesn't want him to see him kneel..."
"And you've been chilling like this?!"
He glared; Iron Mountain shrank.
Little Sparrow jumped in.
"Second Brother said: if you don't want to see me die, don't try to save me and never leave the sect. Hold out ten days, then go to Clear Dawn Escort Agency. They said they'd step in by then."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Since then, no one's left the sect, just training every day. Says he'll bring him back no matter what, pushing himself to the limit daily."
She explained on his behalf.
That explained his sweaty state earlier.
"My fault. If anyone dies, it'll be me..."
Iron Mountain blamed himself.
But the man stood motionless, staring at the moon gate.
Before the moon gate.
Right now, Master stood there.
His face rigid after hearing everything.
The man prostrated himself flat.
"Your disciple Do Cheon has finally returned."
Do Cheon!
The name Master had personally given him: one who slays even the heavens.
"I must go to the Sky-Spanning Gang."
Master turned without a hint of joy at Do Cheon's return after three years. Do Cheon rose swiftly, voice firm.
"I'll go."
Do Cheon, first disciple of the Iron Lion Sect, long fallen to the depths.
This was the grim state of his sect upon his return after three years.