Absolute Regression

Chapter 676: Praise Should Be Given When the Person’s There to Hear It

The celebration banquet went on until dawn.

Everyone drank and talked as if they would never see each other again after today.

But just like how time seemed to pass faster when one was with good people, the merciless hours flew by at lightning speed. Before they knew it, the night was gone, and it was time to part ways.

Han Seol was the first to say goodbye.

“I will greet the Alliance Leader and stay for a few more days before returning to the Northern Sea.”

She had grown close to Jin Haryeong after talking with her all night.

Together with Jin Haryeong, she planned to stop by the Alliance Leader’s Hall to greet the Martial Alliance Leader, then stay for a few more days before departing.

This journey had truly given her the rare experience of meeting all three heads of the orthodox factions.

Bih Sa-in promised they would meet again.

“We shall meet again next time.”

It was as calm and composed a farewell as he could make it, and that somehow made his sense of regret feel even stronger.

Han Seol lowered her head in gratitude.

“Thanks to you, I was able to enjoy my time in the Central Plains.”

He was taciturn and spoke little, yet she knew very well how much effort Bih Sa-in had put in for her sake.

“I will definitely show you around the Northern Sea next time.”

Her second mention of the Northern Sea made it clear she wasn’t just saying it casually, and Bih Sa-in’s mood lifted.

“I will look forward to that day.”

Geom Mugeuk, who had been listening, interrupted.

“What about us? We want to see the Northern Sea too! Drink ice liquor in the snowy mountains!”

Naturally, he expected Han Seol to say she would invite everyone.

“Didn’t Young Cult Leader visit before? You even had ice liquor.”

Then, after slightly bowing her head, she turned away—making it clear that only Bih Sa-in was invited.

A smile he couldn’t hide slipped onto Bih Sa-in’s lips.

With a look that said “I can’t let this slide,” Geom Mugeuk dragged Jin Hagun into it.

“Are you still going to help the Ice Palace after this?”

Jin Hagun nodded firmly.

“Of course. She said she would invite me separately.”

“What? When?”

“Together with my sister.”

Feigning a shiver, Geom Mugeuk muttered under his breath.

“The Ice Palace will be attacked by our cult!”

“I told you, we’re going to help them.”

Even the Unorthodox Alliance joined the Martial Alliance’s cause.

“We’ll help too.”

“You’re all terrible!”

Jin Hagun and Bih Sa-in laughed together.

Watching them, Geom Muyang suddenly had a thought.

‘If these three become Cult Leader and Alliance Leader, the martial world might enter an age no previous generation could ever have imagined.’

A martial world unlike any before or after.

And surprisingly, Geom Muyang realized he was quietly looking forward to it. He was curious—about that kind of Central Plains.

Jin Haryeong said her farewell to Geom Mugeuk.

“Return safely.”

She turned away more neatly than ever before.

It was because she felt a pang of regret.

Perhaps it was from sensing the subtle current passing between Bih Sa-in and Han Seol, but parting from Geom Mugeuk this time felt even harder than usual.

Of course, Geom Mugeuk didn’t let her go without a parting shot.

“Don’t let your hidden ambition slip in front of your big brother! If you ever get caught, run straight to us!”

Hearing his words from behind, a faint smile appeared on Jin Haryeong’s lips.

“Only so you can catch me and hand me over to my big brother?”

“Oh? How did you know?”

“The three of you are always scheming like that—how could I not know?”

And with that, Jin Haryeong and Han Seol were the first to leave.

As they walked off into the distance, Han Seol turned back toward Bih Sa-in and held up the teddy bear slightly.

A bright smile formed on Bih Sa-in’s lips. He would probably be hearing the words “Are you in a good mood, sir?” quite often from Il-rang, the leader of the Thirteen Wolves of the Unorthodox Alliance, for some time.

Now, the three successors bid farewell to each other.

Even at the end, they didn’t forget about peace in the martial world.

“The enemy’s leadership is still intact. So don’t forget—something similar could happen again at any time.”

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Jin Hagun and Bih Sa-in nodded. They had already experienced firsthand just what kind of foes they were dealing with.

“If anything strange happens, you must contact me. Got it? Don’t ever try to handle it alone!”

In the past, those words might have gone in one ear and out the other, but this time, Jin Hagun and Bih Sa-in nodded again.

“Then, until next time!”

The three exchanged glances, then each walked off in a different direction.

From a distance, Geom Mugeuk turned and shouted back.

“I already miss you! When will we meet again?”

Jin Hagun and Bih Sa-in smiled silently, walking on without looking back.

Geom Muyang saw it—Geom Mugeuk’s face as he stopped joking and turned away.

It was calm and serious. This was the man’s true nature, and he was making an effort to be otherwise.

‘I could never live like you, not even if I died.’

The two brothers walked on in silence for a while.

“Brother.”

When Geom Mugeuk still said nothing after a long time, Geom Muyang asked,

“Why call me if you’re not going to say anything?”

“I just felt like calling you.”

They walked for a while longer before Geom Mugeuk spoke again.

“Brother, make me a promise. Later, you must agree to do me one favor.”

“No.”

“Without even hearing what it is?”

“Knowing you, it’ll be something absurd.”

“That’s why I’m asking you. Who else would grant me that absurd favor?”

“…”

Far off on the horizon, the sun began to rise.

Naturally, the two stopped walking and watched it.

Through this journey away from home, Geom Muyang had seen a new side to life.

They had only left the cult to catch the one who made the counterfeit hidden weapons.

But the process started when they had nearly killed his younger brother—and that thought still burned within him.

His life had always been set in stone.

Catch the man. Kill him.

He had lived this one-track, predetermined life, believing that was all there was to it.

But this time, he had encountered another side of life.

He had saved the sibling of the woman who had forged the counterfeit weapons.

He had stood under the eaves watching the rain.

He had spied on someone.

He had played the danso before an audience.

Geom Muyang glanced at Geom Mugeuk beside him.

The light of dawn, spreading across the world, shone brightly on his younger brother’s face.

Come to think of it, his brother had been saying it all along—

Let’s live a different life.

Let’s not have a successor’s fight where we kill each other. Let’s have a different kind of successor’s fight.

Sensing his gaze, Geom Mugeuk turned to him, and Geom Muyang spoke.

“Shall we run?”

A smile brighter than the morning sunlight spread across Geom Mugeuk’s lips. It was the first time his brother had suggested running together.

“Gladly.”

The two of them launched into light footwork and sprinted forward.

Running alongside his brother, Geom Mugeuk shouted,

“Let’s go—home!”

*         *         *

The cult had long been waiting for this news.

“The Cult Leader has completed his closed-door training.”

Upon hearing it, Geom Mugeuk and his brother immediately made their way to the Cult Leader’s Hall.

He had actually expected the training to last much longer. After all, it was the next stage of the completed Nine Calamities Demon Art.

But the Cult Leader had emerged sooner than expected. Well, for a man like their father, the length of time was probably meaningless.

Had he achieved progress with the Nine Calamities Demon Art?

“At last, my time as Acting Cult Leader is over!”

“Are you sad?”

“Sad? Ha! You have no idea, Brother. There’s so much work in that seat. For all we know, Father might have used the closed-door training as an excuse to avoid it.”

“Do you think Father is you?”

“How did you know? I left the cult just to avoid work.”

Geom Muyang shook his head with an expression that said there was no reasoning with him.

“Ah, after we see Father, there are so many people I have to meet! Everyone, form a line!”

Geom Muyang thought he should meet with the Gwak Yeong siblings first. He had brought them all this way, after all, and it was only right to check on them.

With that, the two of them entered the Cult Leader’s Hall.

Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang walked side by side along the Path of Blood.

Their father sat on the Celestial Zenith Throne, looking unchanged.

‘Father, thank you.’

Now he understood—just how precious and valuable it was to have someone remain steadfast by one’s side.

One day, that time would come.

The day he would walk this Path of Blood alone and take the empty Celestial Zenith Throne.

Coming to a stop at the foot of the mat, Geom Mugeuk spoke in a loud voice.

“Father, I have returned to the cult after completing my duties!”

Geom Muyang also bowed with due formality.

“I have returned, Cult Leader.”

Geom Woojin looked between the two of them before speaking calmly.

“Did you return safely?”

“Yes!”

Their loud reply echoed throughout the Cult Leader’s Hall.

“Congratulations on completing your closed-door training.”

While offering his congratulations, Geom Mugeuk stared intently at his father.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

At his father’s question, Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

“No matter how I look, I can’t tell. What was the result of your training?”

“If I trained, that’s enough. Why does the result matter?”

“It matters. It’s not just anyone, but Father, returning from a rare closed-door retreat.”

From his father’s gaze, Geom Mugeuk sensed a certain confidence.

In the past, he would never have noticed such a change—he had never even looked this closely at his father’s face before.

But now, he could tell. After seeing him over and over, those subtle differences stood out. He knew exactly what that confidence meant.

‘Father has made progress!’

Eleven-Star? No. Even before the closed-door training, Father’s martial arts had continued to grow. Then…

It was the Twelve-Star Greatness!

There was no doubt—his father’s martial arts had changed along with the changes in his life.

Geom Mugeuk’s heart began to pound violently.

The Twelve-Star Nine Calamities Demon Art! Just what kind of power would it hold? Had the evil spirits changed as well? And the Heavenly Demon Spirit?

Since his regression, many things had changed, but this was the most powerful change yet.

‘Congratulations, Father!’

Those emotions must have been written all over his eyes and face.

Geom Woojin gave him a look that said, “Have you figured it out?” and Geom Mugeuk responded with a look saying, “Don’t you want to boast about it?”

‘Go ahead and brag to your sons as much as you like.’

But of course, Geom Woojin was not the type to boast. Instead, he delivered a rebuke.

“I hear you two caused trouble in my absence! You know full well that you shouldn’t both be away from the cult at the same time.”

“We know. That’s why we went with the Demon Supremes.”

Their father must have already heard the full report from the Chief Strategist, who would have been worried the whole time they were gone.

That the Poison King and the Demonic Buddha had accompanied them, along with the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Wind Cult and the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme.

But reports were one thing.

Geom Mugeuk began recounting in detail everything that had happened outside.

It was something he always did after returning from a journey—sharing even the details that couldn’t be captured in a formal report. Another form of conversation between him and his father. And now, he showed this in front of his older brother.

Brother, maybe you could do this even better than I can. So pay attention.

Of course, Geom Mugeuk would never pass up the chance to tease his brother in a situation like this.

At the end of his report, he dragged his brother into it.

“My brother saved the younger sibling of Artisan Gwak. In the past, he would have just ordered, ‘Too much trouble—get rid of them all!’”

Geom Muyang gave him a look of disbelief, but their father did not stop the report.

“This time, I believe bringing those siblings back alive is just as meaningful as killing the one behind it all. Not only did we gain a skilled young artisan as one of our own, but more importantly—”

Geom Mugeuk glanced at his older brother as he continued.

“—it showed me that my brother has changed.”

A flicker of surprise crossed Geom Muyang’s eyes, but in front of their father, he didn’t say anything.

“These days, my brother is becoming more and more admirable.”

“What’s this? You, complimenting your brother?”

“He’s right next to me, isn’t he? Praise should be given when the person’s here to hear it.”

A faint smirk tugged at Geom Woojin’s lips. That same unchanging smirk made Geom Mugeuk’s heart feel at ease.

‘You don’t know how much I’ve missed seeing that smile.’

And when the mood was this good, it was the perfect time to give a gift.

“Ah, we’ve prepared a present. My brother chose it.”

Geom Woojin’s gaze shifted toward Geom Muyang.

Geom Muyang pulled a scroll from his robes and held it up with both hands.

When Geom Woojin extended his hand—

Swoosh.

—the scroll flew through the air into his grasp.

He slowly unrolled it and silently gazed down at it.

It was the first time either brother had seen their father look at something for so long.

They couldn’t see his expression behind the scroll, but Geom Mugeuk had a feeling he knew exactly what it looked like.

After checking the painting, Geom Woojin rolled the scroll up and set it down beside him.

“Don’t just put it aside like that. That artist was no ordinary hand. If you keep it safe, it might fetch quite a price someday.”

Geom Woojin silently looked down at Geom Muyang.

The gaze of a father toward his firstborn.

From that look, Geom Mugeuk sensed his father’s long-held regret. In that moment, their father was thinking—

How it would have been better if his eldest could have become heir without killing his brother.

Father, we will make that wish come true. We will live our lives protecting our brotherhood.

Geom Mugeuk then pulled out something thickly wrapped from his robes.

“There’s one more gift.”

Geom Muyang recalled seeing his brother take it from the carriage after hearing their father had emerged from seclusion, wondering at the time what on earth he was preparing.

Swoosh.

It, too, flew into Geom Woojin’s hands.

“It’s sleepwear—a floral-patterned set from Wuhan. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t know, but once I did, I couldn’t just pass it up.”

Geom Muyang was speechless. His brother had actually gone back and bought that ridiculous floral sleepwear.

‘You fool, do you really think Father would wear that?’

He expected their father to scold them, but instead—

Geom Woojin quietly set that gift down beside him as well.

Whether the gifts pleased him or not, his expression had softened.

“Go rest.”

After bowing respectfully, Geom Mugeuk and Geom Muyang turned to leave.

A few steps later, Geom Mugeuk turned back as if suddenly remembering something.

“Ah, Father. Let’s go hunting together sometime—the three of us.”

He could feel his older brother tense beside him, worried their father might not be interested. But it was a pointless worry. His father’s answer came quicker than quick.

“We leave at dawn tomorrow.”

Yes—our father was the type who never considered his children’s schedules.