Absolute Regression

Chapter 681: The Heavenly Demon Destroys the World

“You might think it’s just superstition.”

The first time the wine base spoiled, Geom Mugeuk had teased him, asking what kind of Demon Supreme would believe in superstitions.

The Drunken Demon’s gaze deepened as he looked down at the spoiled wine base.

“To me, it’s not superstition.”

Then came Geom Mugeuk’s voice from behind.

“If it weren’t for you…”

When the Drunken Demon turned, Geom Mugeuk finished his words.

“…it wouldn’t be for me either.”

Geom Mugeuk walked over to stand beside the Drunken Demon, looking down at the ruined wine base.

“Seems like it’s still not enough.”

The Drunken Demon looked at him with a face asking what he meant by that.

“We probably need to become stronger, and things need to go even better for us.”

If their fate had changed, then so too would the fate of their enemies.

Right, just because they had grown stronger didn’t mean their opponents had grown weaker. Taking a different path could lead to an outcome beyond reason. They couldn’t afford to be careless until the very end.

“Live harder, this spoiled wine base is telling you so.”

The Drunken Demon shook his head at Geom Mugeuk’s words.

“How could you possibly live harder than you already do?”

“Guess you don’t really know me, brother. I slack off a lot. I go hunting with Father and my brother, and I even drank earlier today, didn’t I?”

“That drink we shared earlier was the first in a hundred years. And the three of you going hunting was a first in your lives. You talk a lot, but you’ve never actually played around properly.”

As if to say that seeing someone often doesn’t mean knowing them well and vice versa, the Drunken Demon knew Geom Mugeuk better than anyone else.

“Wild drinking parties with friends—brother just hasn’t seen them.”

“Oh, I’m sure they were just wild gatherings between heirs.”

“We even danced. What’s your problem?”

After throwing open the main door and windows to air out the room, Geom Mugeuk fetched a wooden tub from the corner and began cleaning up the wine base.

“Leave it. I’ll clean it up later.”

“And let you worry yourself sick over it alone?”

The two of them cleaned up the wine base together and washed the cups until they were spotless. Since they were already cleaning, Geom Mugeuk rolled up his sleeves, and in the end, they scrubbed the entire brewery until it was spotless.

“You’re not going to brew again for a while, right?”

He naturally assumed that would be the case.

“I will.”

And the reason was none other than Geom Mugeuk.

“You said you’d believe in this superstition, didn’t you? Then I have to keep brewing. To see if it spoils even worse, or if it spoils less. The wine is constantly sending us signals.”

Geom Mugeuk could feel it—the Drunken Demon’s intention behind those words, telling him to fight more carefully based on those signals. Even though he was anxious and upset, he still wanted to warn him.

“Next time I return from leaving the Cult, I’m coming straight to you first. Elder! I apologize in advance!”

“Come at the very end. If you’re busy, you don’t have to come at all. I’ll be fine.”

The Drunken Demon stepped outside first. Geom Mugeuk followed after him.

“Looks like having a woman to protect is finally making you mature, brother.”

“As if that would happen.”

The Drunken Demon drank deeply from the Blood Calabash hanging at his waist, then walked into the thick, mist-like liquor energy.

“What kind of drunkard in this world ever matures?”

---

After parting ways with the Drunken Demon, Geom Mugeuk headed for his father’s quarters.

In front of the residence, Hui released his concealment and revealed himself.

“Young Cult Leader, you’ve arrived?”

As always, Hui greeted Geom Mugeuk in his unchanging manner.

“How have you been, uncle?”

“Yes, I’ve been well.”

Hui’s gaze toward Geom Mugeuk was gentle. This was the one moment when Hui, who never revealed his emotions, would soften.

“The Cult Leader has not yet gone to bed. Please wait a moment.”

Hui disappeared, then reappeared.

“He says to come in.”

Geom Mugeuk opened the door and stepped inside. It was the sleeping chamber of his father, which he had entered before.

“You’re still awake. Ah!”

Just as he was about to greet him, Geom Mugeuk’s face lit up in surprise.

His father was wearing floral-patterned pajamas—the very ones Geom Mugeuk had bought as a gift in Wuhan. Geom Mugeuk’s smile widened in joy.

“They look perfect on you! Much more practical and better than my brother’s gift, right? Where did you shove that scroll? You’ve already thrown it away, haven’t you? I’ll keep it a secret from him.”

While looking around the room, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes stopped on something—himself and his brother.

A scroll hanging on the wall.

What moved Geom Mugeuk wasn’t just that it was hanging there, but where it was hung.

It was positioned where it would be most visible to his father while lying in bed. He could imagine his father looking at his sons before sleeping each night.

Geom Mugeuk stared at the scroll silently for a moment. Hung here in his father’s room, it felt like seeing it anew.

“My brother will really like this when he sees it.”

“Muyang has already seen it.”

“Huh? When?”

Geom Mugeuk looked at his father in surprise.

“It was Muyang who hung it there before he left.”

Had his brother come first? Or had their father called for him? Either way, it was a sign of how much the two had changed.

“Father, next time, let’s paint a picture of the three of us together. Should I send the Demonic Army to Wuhan right now to grab a painter?”

In the past, his father would have said no immediately. But no such refusal came.

“What brings you here at such an hour?”

“Well, for most people, it’s still early evening.”

As his father’s gaze narrowed, Geom Mugeuk quickly spoke.

“I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I came to learn the Nine Calamities Demon Art.”

Even though it was a sudden request, his father didn’t seem very surprised.

“You knew I would come?”

His father nodded.

“Didn’t you notice that my recent closed-door training had been effective? I knew you would come sooner or later.”

“I had to. If I don’t learn it now, when will I?”

And he had a concrete goal for his martial arts training.

Up to now, he had learned up to the Fifth Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.

“I believe it’s time to learn the Sixth Form.”

The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Forms were martial arts executed by the Heavenly Demon Spirit, so in practice, the last true technique of the Nine Calamities Demon Art was the Sixth Form—

Sixth Form: Heavenly Demon World Annihilation.

The Heavenly Demon destroys the world.

It was known as the most powerful of the Nine Calamities Demon Art’s techniques.

However, this final form was extremely difficult to execute, and because it required pouring almost all of one’s internal energy into a single strike, a single mistake could cause severe internal injuries.

“I am ready, Father.”

Heavenly Demon Geom Woojin silently studied his son for a moment, then rose to his feet.

“Follow me.”

Still in his pajamas, Geom Woojin took only the Heavenly Demon Sword and walked outside.

Geom Mugeuk followed after him.

There was a certain sense of freedom in seeing his father carrying only a sword while dressed in pajamas—something he had never felt from him before.

They arrived at a training ground deep within the Inner Compound.

It was different from the one Geom Mugeuk had visited when meeting his father before.

Here, the surroundings were walled entirely with iron.

Geom Mugeuk knocked on the wall.

“These walls are incredibly thick.”

“There are ten more of the same walls behind this one, spaced ten steps apart.”

“Is this some kind of prison to keep criminals from escaping?”

Then his eyes caught sight of a particular wall—one large enough for an adult to hide behind.

It wasn’t an ordinary iron wall.

“Could this be Millennial Cold Iron?”

To his surprise, his father nodded.

“Why would you put such precious Millennial Cold Iron here?”

And it was extremely thick.

“What exactly is this place for?”

His father didn’t answer, as if to say he would find out later.

“Now, show me the Sixth Form.”

He already knew the mnemonic verse, so he could attempt it.

But he had never performed it before, nor had he ever seen his father use it.

As Geom Mugeuk prepared to execute the Sixth Form, his father stepped behind the Millennial Cold Iron wall.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t allow my son to commit the unfilial act of injuring his father, can I?”

The moment he heard those words, he understood.

This Millennial Cold Iron wall in front of him existed to block the destructive force of the Heavenly Demon World Annihilation.

Which meant it was powerful enough to possibly injure even his father.

Then this room of iron walls, and the layers of iron walls behind it?

They existed to test the power of Heavenly Demon World Annihilation, and to prevent its force from leaking outside.

Just how powerful was it supposed to be?

“To execute the Sixth Form properly, one normally needs to train specifically in it for several months—at the very least, even the fastest would need ten days of training.”

“Then why are you already going behind the wall?”

An unexpected answer came.

“Because it’s you.”

Meaning, there was a chance he might be able to unleash it in one try.

It was also a sign of how highly his father valued his talent.

“How long did it take you, Father?”

“Ten days.”

“Then I’ll only need one day—since the one teaching me is you.”

A faint, scoffing smile tugged at his father’s lips.

“Very well, begin.”

Taking a deep breath, Geom Mugeuk followed the mnemonic verse and moved his qi to perform the Sixth Form.

But the technique did not unleash.

“Your qi movement is too slow.”

His father stepped out from behind the wall and explained the mnemonic verse in detail. It was an explanation from a realm beyond even the Ten Star Greatness stage.

“Try again.”

This time, his father stepped behind the Millennial Cold Iron wall again.

If it were anyone else, they might have said a wall like this wasn’t necessary for him—but his father showed no hesitation or embarrassment in hiding behind it.

Geom Mugeuk understood why.

Because this was the Nine Calamities Demon Art. His father’s own martial art.

If it had been another technique, he probably wouldn’t have done this.

Again, it didn’t unleash. But this time, he could feel that his qi movement had changed.

“It feels different this time.”

How could things stay the same when one was learning directly from the Heavenly Demon? With each piece of guidance, something changed.

“This time, my sword held internal energy! Only faintly, but still.”

Unleash and fail. Unleash and fail.

He asked questions, and his father answered.

Hours passed like that.

Night deepened, and the time approached dawn, but his father did not stop teaching. Every single time, it struck him—when teaching martial arts, his father became a completely different person.

And finally—

The moment of fruition arrived.

An overwhelming surge of internal energy gathered into Geom Mugeuk’s Black Demon Sword—

Fwooooooosh!

Light burst forth from the sword aimed forward.

Flash!

The world turned white. It was as if the sun had exploded before his eyes. A massive detonation took place, yet there was no sound.

The iron wall vanished—melted away like wax. The wall behind it disappeared, and further still, the next wall beyond that vanished as well. Everything in all directions was disappearing.

When the light faded, nothing remained around them.

Everything within sight had been obliterated.

This place was no longer a room of iron walls.

Sunlight streamed in through the vanished ceiling, and the blue sky came into view.

Only one thing remained there—the Millennial Cold Iron wall standing directly ahead.

“Father!”

Startled, Geom Mugeuk shouted. From behind the wall, his father stepped out.

“Haa…”

Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.

Now he understood why the technique was called Heavenly Demon World Annihilation.

It was a martial art that annihilated everything.

'A crazy martial art.'

With a trembling voice, Geom Mugeuk asked his father,

“Was that a success?”

Geom Woojin nodded. As if he had expected his son to pull it off in a single day, he showed no surprise.

Overjoyed, Geom Mugeuk bounced on his feet. At last, he could execute every technique of the Nine Calamities Demon Art, right up to its final form.

“I did it!”

Then he collapsed to the ground. All the internal energy in his dantian was gone—it was a strike that could only be performed by exhausting one’s entire reserve.

Geom Woojin looked around. Normally, he would judge the force by how many iron walls remained, but there was nothing left.

The power was immeasurable.

This was because Geom Mugeuk’s immense and utterly pure internal energy had been far too overwhelming.

Even the Millennial Cold Iron wall had been gouged deeply.

With eyes full of both surprise and admiration, Geom Woojin spoke calmly.

“If someone were passing beyond the wall when you performed the Sixth Form, they would die. If someone were in a distant building, they would die. Every living thing you can see would die. Anyone lying down would die, anyone flying away would die as well. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

He was warning his son of the consequences if this martial art was used recklessly.

He knew his son well enough now to say this—because he knew that if an innocent person were to die, Geom Mugeuk would carry the emotional wound forever.

Geom Mugeuk made a request.

“I want to see Father’s Heavenly Demon World Annihilation.”

One executed at the level of the Twelve Star Greatness.

He could have said, “Wait until you’ve reached the Ten Star Greatness before asking,” but for some reason, Geom Woojin simply drew the Heavenly Demon Sword.

“Wait! I should get behind the Millennial Cold Iron wall too! Father, your son will die!”

But already, light was erupting from the Heavenly Demon Sword.

Flash!

At the moment he thought he was done for, Geom Mugeuk saw it—

The light, which seemed as though it would spread to engulf the entire world, was contained only around his father.

'Father is controlling the force of Heavenly Demon World Annihilation!'

The light that should have scattered in every direction gradually drew inward, forming into the shape of a single sword.

And the moment the pure white sword of light was complete—

Shyaaaaaaang!

With a crisp wind sound unlike anything he had ever heard before, the sword of light shot toward the Millennial Cold Iron.

His father aimed for the corner.

Fwooooooosh!

The sword of light pierced straight through the Millennial Cold Iron. That massive, thick metal was penetrated as easily as tofu.

“Ah!”

An exclamation burst from Geom Mugeuk’s mouth.

It was the first time he had ever seen such thick Millennial Cold Iron pierced through in a single strike.

“Did you see it?” his father asked calmly.

If he wished, his father could unleash a Heavenly Demon World Annihilation that annihilated everything, just as Geom Mugeuk had.

But having reached the realm of the Twelve Star Greatness, he had succeeded in gathering that destructive power into a single point.

His father had controlled destruction. There was order in his destruction.

“Yes, I saw it clearly.”

Once again, his father had casually set down a new milestone before him.

Then, with a great yawn, he walked away from the place.

“I’m going to bed.”