Absolute Regression

Chapter 629: They Became More Handsome and More Terrifying

Geom Mugeuk was standing in the field, reading a book.

After mastering the New Eye Technique, no matter how many books he read, his eyes didn’t tire. But for someone who had once soared and leapt across the world, sitting still with his rear planted was the true torment.

So, he came up with the idea of reading while standing. Even that, however, became boring before long.

Geom Mugeuk began to move. Not forward, but upward—walking skyward. He slowly walked through the air using Void Telekinesis, reading his book, and then, as if throwing himself onto a bed, he let his body fall.

Geom Mugeuk rolled through the air. He read while lying on his back, and even on his stomach. It looked as though invisible clouds were supporting him from below.

Within the Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique, he activated the Heavenly Time Secret Art, unleashing this divine posture while continuing to read. Of course, it wasn’t martial arts training—merely a kind of play, fueled by the overflow of his internal energy.

By now, Geom Mugeuk had read well over hundreds of books. One-third of them were unrelated to martial arts, while the remaining two-thirds were top-tier martial arts manuals.

No matter how good something was, it wore thin after a day or two. He’d hit that wall more than once. Reading was harder than martial arts training. Tedious, exhausting, suffocating. Each time, he faced a powerful temptation.

—You think reading books will help? You! Do you even have time for this?

But Geom Mugeuk did not give up.

In his life before the Great Regression, he had walked that long road alone. He was a man who didn’t know how to give up.

If he continued reading like this, it would eventually come to this:

If Father ever asked where a certain book was—eighth bookshelf, fourth row.

Of course, reading every book in this place was realistically impossible. He couldn’t just stay here and read forever. That privilege would have to be yielded to someone else.

“Elder Blade Demon, if I become the Cult Leader, I will grant you full access to the Heavenly Demon Library. Read as much as you wish. Read everything!”

If it hadn’t been for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, he wouldn’t have taken any interest in reading, nor even considered entering this place. This training session was thanks to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

Besides, every single book here had already been verified to be of high quality.

Among the manuals Geom Mugeuk had read, a few were so extreme that if they were released into the current martial world, a bloodbath would follow. Even the one he was reading now, the Severing Moon Sword Art, had once swept through the martial world three hundred years ago.

Geom Mugeuk, reading a manual midair, landed on the ground.

He stared straight ahead for a moment—then, like a bolt of lightning, drew the Black Demon Sword.

In a flash, a single beam of sword light vertically cleaved through space.

Swaaaaaaaaaaaa.

The grass across the entire field bent in the same direction all at once.

Jjeooooooook.

At the same time, the ground split in a straight line, extending far into the distance.

Examining the exposed cross-section, Geom Mugeuk shook his head in dissatisfaction and slashed again.

Jjeooooook!

This time, a new crack opened beside the first one.

Sitting between the two lines, Geom Mugeuk compared the second cross-section with the first, contemplating.

Through that process, a third division was made.

After inspecting the third cross-section, Geom Mugeuk finally showed a satisfied expression. It was the moment the Severing Moon Sword cleaved the moon.

Ttak.

With a snap of his fingers, the split ground returned to its original state.

Geom Mugeuk placed the Severing Moon Sword Art back on the desk and opened the next book.

Once again, it was a martial arts manual. Lately, he had been completely immersed in the pleasure of reading martial arts manuals. If something piqued his interest, he would even try it out in real life, just like the Severing Moon Sword Art a moment ago.

You might expect that, since it was a manual he was reading for the first time, he would only be able to execute the basic techniques—but that wasn’t the case.

Rather, the more profound and complex the techniques were, the easier they were for him to perform. That was because Geom Mugeuk’s level was extraordinarily high; the more difficult it was, the easier it was for him.

On the other hand, when it came to simple techniques, his mind would begin to wander. Again, that was due to his level. He didn’t just execute the move—he would think, If I change it this way, it would be stronger. If I adjust it like that, it would be faster. Such thoughts spiraled one after another.

This was also something he experienced for the first time. Most of what he encountered after entering the Heavenly Demon Library had been first-time experiences, and this learning left a deep impact on Geom Mugeuk.

He compared, he analyzed, and he discovered mistakes.

As he continued reading martial arts manuals, Geom Mugeuk's understanding of the origins of martial arts deepened.

How is martial arts created?

And beyond that—

How is martial arts passed down and developed?

Eventually, he began to consider how those martial arts differed from the Nine Calamities Demon Art.

What made the Nine Calamities Demon Art special?

It was a question he had never asked, not even once, while mastering the Nine Calamities Demon Art until now.

Had he never read other martial arts manuals, the only answer he could have given would’ve been:

'Because it’s inherently powerful.'

But now, he was experiencing the process of understanding why in concrete terms.

Thinking, researching. Reading and re-reading. Then thinking again.

At some point, he arrived at a hypothesis. A hypothesis only made possible because he had read so many manuals.

'Is this why the Nine Calamities Demon Art is so powerful?'

It wasn’t a conclusion—merely a guess. But at that moment, Geom Mugeuk sensed that the time had come.

From deep within his heart surged an overwhelming urge to draw his sword immediately.

Geom Mugeuk promptly set the book down and unleashed the Nine Calamities Demon Art.

First Technique: Human Annihilation Form.

The Four Demonic Ghosts revealed themselves.

The terrifying one, the handsome one, the mysterious one, and the intelligent-looking one. By now, they felt so familiar—they felt like family.

‘It’s been a while, East, West, South, North!’

Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok!

After slashing their target from all directions, the figures disappeared.

Whenever his martial arts level was on the verge of rising, there was always a change in these beings.

And today was no different.

Just before they vanished, the gaze they directed at Geom Mugeuk was different from before.

A look that was yearning for something.

That gaze tickled Geom Mugeuk’s heart.

And he knew that ticklish feeling well. It was the signal that his martial arts level was ready to ascend. At last, the moment had come.

‘I can’t let this chance slip by.’

When one's martial arts level rose, it wasn’t like climbing a slope—it was like suddenly stepping up to a higher stair.

Geom Mugeuk immersed himself completely in the training of the Nine Calamities Demon Art. He unleashed it again and again. He encountered the Demonic Ghosts tens, hundreds, thousands of times.

“Ah, this is exhausting!”

Geom Mugeuk collapsed to the ground.

“You must be enjoying the show, aren’t you?”

He was speaking to the Secret Box placed on the desk. Whenever the training wore him out, he would talk to it like this.

“What? You’re saying just reading a few books isn’t enough to gain mastery over the Nine Calamities Demon Art? That I’d be better off using this time to meet the Demon Supreme instead? After how long you’ve been here, you think the Drunken Demon would’ve drowned in a liquor vat from being neglected?”

That was the voice of the demon whispering through the mouth of the Secret Box.

Then came the whisper of Geom Mugeuk’s inner will.

“Think of Father? Think about how much grueling training he must be enduring during his closed-door cultivation. And here I am, slacking off? When Father comes out, am I really going to say, ‘I was tired and took a break while you were away, Father’?”

No. That could never happen.

Geom Mugeuk shot to his feet. From the very first day of his regression until now, the greatest driving force that kept him moving forward had always been his father. Especially now, while his father was in closed-door training.

‘Father, I will succeed no matter what.’

Geom Mugeuk swung his sword once more.

The Four Demonic Ghosts cleaved space as one unified will, charging forward in a line to sweep through the world.

When the strongest wall in existence was erected, a single streak of sword light split the dense darkness, and sword energy thundered down like rain.

Even when it felt like his arm would tear off, he continued to swing. When his internal energy ran low, he regulated his breath and repeated it all again.

He felt that if he gave up now, the Four Demonic Ghosts—East, West, South, and North—would never again look at him with that longing expression. And he never wanted to see them disappointed.

He didn’t know how many days and nights had passed since then.

It wasn’t exhausting. He didn’t even think of it as exhausting.

Effort did not belong in the category of hardship. What was truly hard was being in a situation where one didn’t even have the opportunity to make an effort.

Geom Mugeuk poured into his training everything he had neglected while reading books—all at once, as if gathering energy to release in a single explosion.

Only the Secret Box bore witness to that blood-shedding effort.

And then, the destined moment arrived!

Geom Mugeuk’s eyes, staring blankly into the distance, began to tremble.

Though he had executed the same technique as always, the Human Annihilation Form had changed.

The Four Demonic Ghosts—East, West, South, and North—had grown in size.

Was he seeing things? He closed and reopened his eyes, but it was the same. What’s more, they had become more handsome, more terrifying, more mysterious, and more intelligent-looking.

Swaeaek! Swaeaek! Swaek! Swaeaek!

The power of the swords they struck down with had also become significantly stronger.

The moment he saw them, Geom Mugeuk let out a breath of amazement.

"…I’ve ascended to the Ninth Star."

Sure enough, the gaze of the Demonic Ghosts—who had once seemed to want something from him—was now calm.

And just before they vanished, they smiled in satisfaction, as if to say, You’ve done well. Was he seeing things due to sheer exhaustion?

Thud.

His tension released, Geom Mugeuk collapsed where he stood. Intense fatigue washed over him.

But he immediately jumped back to his feet. He couldn’t spend this precious moment sleeping. He felt too good to sleep.

Hoping it wasn’t just a dream, he once again unleashed the Nine Calamities Demon Art.

Second Form: Great Annihilation Form.

Slaaash—before his eyes, the Demonic Ghosts manifested again, and their bodies were even larger than before. This time, their number was a staggering twenty-six.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwak!

With tremendous force, they swept everything in front of them. The ground where they passed was hollowed out with not a blade of grass remaining. The power was incomparably greater than before.

"I really have reached the Ninth Star!"

Geom Mugeuk shouted with joy. He was truly elated. He had proven what kind of results the Heavenly Martial Body could achieve through blood-shedding effort.

The one who had witnessed that effort was the Secret Box—and now, the one smiling with him was also the Secret Box.

Of course, this achievement wasn’t the result of reading books alone. Nor was it solely due to the effort he poured in.

It was the culmination of his entire life’s worth of experience and learning before the Great Regression.

Along with the human relationships he had built in this life—his father, and many others—and the life-and-death real combat experiences he had faced while fighting the Twelve Zodiac Kings.

All of that had come together to produce this remarkable achievement.

‘This is only the beginning.’

Reaching Greatness from the Ninth Star was a far more difficult task than what he had just accomplished.

And Geom Mugeuk’s goal wasn’t Ten Star Greatness. It was Twelve Star Greatness. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how treacherous the road ahead would be.

At this moment, a single anticipation made Geom Mugeuk’s heart tremble.

With just one more step, he would be able to encounter the Heavenly Demon Spirit.

What kind of Heavenly Demon Spirit would his be?

There were many people with whom he wanted to share this joy, but the first person who came to mind now was his father.

If his father were to ask how he had reached the Ninth Star?

'It’s thanks to reading books diligently.'

How would his father react?

And what wall was his father trying to break through at this very moment?

'Father, I’ve made it past a major hurdle!'

Just then, the voice of Jeokyeon, the bodyguard commander, came from outside.

“They’re urgently summoning you at the Heavenly Communication Pavilion.”

When Geom Mugeuk arrived at the Heavenly Communication Pavilion, a new flag had been planted on the strategic terrain map.

A new flag placed right beside his older brother’s.

Destruction (滅).

It was the flag of Jin Hagun, the Demon-Slaying Brigade Commander.

“They’ve met!”

Geom Mugeuk had sincerely hoped that his older brother would meet Jin Hagun. In the enemy-filled land of Wuhan, Jin Hagun was perhaps the only person who might show his brother some consideration.

“Two of the most stone-faced, boring men in the world have met.”

At those words, Sima Myung smiled. He, too, was familiar with the personalities of those two.

“How did they meet?”

The answer that followed was unexpected.

“The Great Young Master sent word first.”

“My brother did? That can’t be right.”

Knowing his brother’s nature, there was no way he would’ve reached out to Jin Hagun first. There must’ve been a compelling reason.

Just then, a new message arrived from Wuhan.

Sima Myung’s expression stiffened as he read it. That alone was enough to know that something serious had happened.

“A new figure has appeared.”

A subordinate officer walked toward the strategic terrain map of Wuhan.

The Martial Alliance Main Division.

There were about a dozen flags placed there.

Experts of the Martial Alliance who had the qualifications to bear their own standard.

At the center of the Alliance Leader’s Hall stood a grand, ornate flag adorned with a dragon. In the center of the dragon was a single character: 'Righteous' (正).

It was the command flag of Jin Paecheon, the Martial Alliance Leader.

The subordinate then laid down another flag next to the Martial Alliance Leader’s flag. A new flag, one that had never been seen in the Martial Alliance until now.

And it was placed right next to the command flag.

Splendor (華).