Absolute Regression

“Elder!”

Seeing the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, I leaped for joy and shouted. Had there ever been a time when I was so happy to see him since we first met?

Gu Cheonpa descended to the ground and drew out the Heaven-Extinguishing Saber, which was half-buried in the ground.

“Why is someone of your age oppressing the younger generation?”

The Blade Demon sternly rebuked Yang Cheogi.

In sole response, a Blood Disaster Finger flew at him instead of an answer.

Boom!

Old man Blade struck out with a palm, neutralizing the Blood Disaster Finger. His internal energy was not suppressed in the slightest. Especially recently, having diligently trained his martial arts, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s aura was sharper than ever.

Gu Cheonpa roared angrily.

The Heaven-Extinguishing Saber swung widely.

Whoosh!

The sword wind that burst from the blade tore through the space and surged forward.

Yang Cheogi didn’t dodge but instead thrust out both palms, unleashing his palm force.

Boom!

With a deafening explosion, the two men were pushed back. The number of steps they took backward was the same. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s internal power was indeed profound, not yielding to Yang Cheogi in the slightest.

I immediately joined the fight. It would be disastrous if the Blade Demon got injured while fighting alone.

Shiiing.

As I executed the seventh form of the Soaring Sword Art, the Rain of a Thousand Swords, the Black Demon Sword split into twelve sword energies that floated in the air. Although I didn’t have much internal energy left, I deliberately flaunted my power and split it as much as possible.

Seeing that I was about to join the fight, Yang Cheogi, realizing the unfavorable situation, suddenly kicked off the ground and vanished from the spot.

“Don’t chase after him.”

Worried that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon might pursue, I was relieved to see that he didn’t move an inch.

“I’m not going after him. Just exchanging a single blow with him made me feel like my arm was about to fall off. He’s as strong as he is ugly.”

“Compared to him, you’re a peerless handsome man, Elder!”

“Of course.”

“Elder!”

I ran up and tried to hug him, but Gu Cheonpa sidestepped with a footwork technique.

“Disgusting.”

“What brings you here?”

“I was passing by, purely by chance.” 1

As if that could be true? Gu Cheonpa had been keeping an eye on my movements out of concern for me.

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, we would’ve died here.”

It wasn’t mere flattery. If he hadn’t come, who knows how the battle might have ended.

The Evil Smiling Demon slumped to the ground. His mask was covered in blood, and his entire body was bruised and bloodied.

“Elder, please stand guard for a moment.”

“Of course.”

I placed my hand on Soma’s back and infused a stream of my internal energy into him. Slowly, I tended to his meridians, boosting his vital energy and healing his internal injuries. As my pure internal energy soothed his body, the Evil Smiling Demon soon opened his eyes. Fortunately, the internal injuries weren’t too severe.

“Thank goodness. Your internal injuries aren’t that deep.”

The Evil Smiling Demon looked at me. I could never forget it—the look in his eyes filled with regret when he had anticipated his end earlier.

We often forget. We easily move past those intense moments that could change our lives. Once those moments pass, we don’t live as we did in them.

But I won’t be like that. In my relationship with him, nothing else is necessary. As long as I don’t forget the regret of that moment when we both sensed death, it’ll be enough.

Soma, what about you? Do you feel the same as I do?

The Evil Smiling Demon simply laughed. For the first time, he laughed fully, expressing all his emotions. I laughed as well.

Yes, that’s it. Drink with the Drunken Demon, laugh with the Smiling Demon. That’s all that matters.

Next, Soma expressed his gratitude to the Blood Heaven Blade Demon. He didn’t say a word but simply bowed his head slightly.

Gu Cheonpa acknowledged it with a simple nod in return.

Seizing the moment, I hugged the Blood Heaven Blade Demon tightly. 2

“Elder! I’ve missed you.”

“I told you, that’s disgusting. Why do you keep doing that?”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon shook me off and retreated as if fleeing. But how could I not know? He was genuinely pleased to have saved me.

As I retrieved the Millennial Cold Iron Dagger lying next to the corpse of Cheol Soeja, I spoke honestly.

“This fight was quite tough.”

Watching me, old man Blade spoke.

“I told you, didn’t I? You’re waking up the martial world.”

“Should I go learn a lullaby somewhere?”

“In the process of learning, you might wake up even those who shouldn’t be awakened.”

At his joke, I replied confidently.

“Let them all wake up. Let’s not have anyone wake up later and start talking nonsense in their sleep. Instead….”

I met the gazes of the two men and continued.

“Fight alongside me from now on.”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon stared at me for a moment, then abruptly turned and walked away, with the Evil Smiling Demon following behind him. 3

“You’re doing it again, you’re doing it again.”

I followed them, leaving that place behind.

* * *

Sima Myung, holding an urgent message in his hand, entered the Heavenly Demon Pavilion. His unusually brisk pace indicated the importance of the contents he was carrying.

Despite sensing the urgency, Heavenly Demon Geom Woojin remained as calm as ever.

Upon reaching the end of the Path of Blood, Sima Myung quickly relayed the news.

“This time, the young master encountered villains of the Valley of Wicked during his mission.”

“The Valley of Wicked?”

“The Enchantress of Extreme Bliss, the Three Blood-Red Armies, the Lord of Hell, and the Blood Wolf Blade were all involved.”

“Some formidable opponents appeared.”

“But they weren’t the only ones. Even Odd Demon and Cheol Soeja showed up.”

When those two names were mentioned, Geom Woojin flinched slightly. The first four were already formidable, but the last two were not to be underestimated.

“They clashed with the young master and the Evil Smiling Demon.”

“Soma was involved as well?”

“Yes. It seems the Evil Smiling Demon got entangled in this matter.”

“And the outcome?”

After a brief pause, Sima Myung reported.

“The young master and the Evil Smiling Demon killed them all.”

“It’s understandable for the first four, but the last two wouldn’t have been easy.”

“In the process, the Evil Smiling Demon suffered internal injuries. Fortunately, they weren’t severe.”

“And what about Mugeuk?”

“He’s fine.”

“They killed Odd Demon and Cheol Soeja, just the two of them?”

Unlike the composed Geom Woojin, Strategist Advisor Sima Myung seemed slightly excited.

“I was quite surprised when I read the report. Previously, the young master and the Evil Smiling Demon combined forces to kill the Sword Emperor, but that was a single opponent. This time, they faced multiple enemies, making it far from easy.”

Had it not been for the duel with Geom Mugeuk at the Flowing Wind Tavern, Geom Woojin would have been equally shocked. He had already been surprised that day.

“Who was behind this incident?”

“The mastermind appears to be the leader of the Heavenly Society, and those who executed the plan were Yang Cheogi and the leader of the Valley of Wicked.”

“Yang Cheogi? The one from the White Mask Sect?”

Geom Woojin was familiar with him.

“Yes. It seems this was driven by a grudge between him and the Evil Smiling Demon.”

“But to involve such powerful figures for that reason alone seems excessive.”

“According to the young master’s report, the leader of the Heavenly Society secretly offered Yang Cheogi the position of the Valley of Wicked’ leader as an incentive to join him.”

“Why would he do that? From the perspective of the Heavenly Society’s leader, the current leader of the Valley of Wicked would be more useful than Yang Cheogi in many ways.”

“There must be some hidden agenda.”

“Investigate it.”

“Understood! The Heavenly Society is proving to be a more troublesome group than we initially thought.”

Until now, they had considered the Heavenly Society to merely be a group merely pretending to be the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in order to reap undeserved benefits. However, it has become clear that they are a much larger and stronger organization than they initially thought.

“What will you do? The young master might struggle against them. Shouldn’t we recall him?”

But Geom Woojin shook his head.

“Isn’t this the mission he chose for himself? Then he must bear the consequences. However, we will overlook the fact that the Demon Supremes got involved this time. And increase the number of allowed reinforcements from one to three.”

“Understood.”

Originally, this was a mission meant to be handled alone, so the involvement of the Demon Supremes was technically against the rules.

However, given the extraordinary circumstances that had surpassed the intended challenge, it was only fair to adjust the difficulty accordingly.

“I will focus our intelligence network on keeping a close watch on the Heavenly Society.”

Geom Woojin nodded in agreement.

“Tell my second son that the test will continue.”

* * *

We stayed at a safe house of the cult not far from the Yellow River Inn, where the battle had taken place.

Over the next few days, we rested, recovering our internal energy and healing our wounds. We had proper meals, practiced meditation and breathing techniques, and took full advantage of the downtime.

Then today, a message arrived from the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, instructing us to continue the mission.

I couldn’t help but think, “As expected of my father.” Even if I sent a message saying we were about to clash with the Martial Alliance, he would simply respond with, “Fight well.”

That night, while enjoying the serene moonlight, I wandered through the garden of the safe house. In a corner of the courtyard, I spotted the Blood Heaven Blade Demon practicing martial arts.

“Are you training even here?”

“Is training a joke? It doesn’t matter where I do it.”

“These days, whenever I see you, I can’t help but think that becoming a Demon Supreme is no joke.”

“Don’t lie. You used to look down on us.”

“That’s a misunderstanding!”

To be honest, when I first decided to take control of the Demon Supremes, I did underestimate them. However, after getting closer to them, I had long since abandoned that notion. These people are not easy to deal with.

Perhaps that’s why Yang Cheogi never became a Demon Supreme.

Regardless of his martial skills, he lacks that decisive something needed to be a Demon Supreme. Perhaps it’s charisma? Or a certain presence? He simply doesn’t have what it takes.

“Maybe you’ve forgotten how terrifying a Demon Supreme can be because you’ve been hanging out with the Drunken Demon so much lately.”

“Even that drunkard shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Hmpf.”

“Why are you so worried about me these days?”

“Do I have a choice? You keep getting yourself into dangerous situations at every turn. I might have to dip into my savings to buy you some better armor. By the way, have you taken the Fast Recovery Pill?”

“Yes, I have.”

I didn’t mention that I had given the Fast Recovery Pill to the Evil Smiling Demon. If I did, our elder might spend the entire night fuming and unable to sleep.

It was then that I heard a voice.

“I took it.” 4

I turned around to see Soma walking out into the garden.

“Thanks to you, I survived.”

He bowed his head slightly as he spoke. The polite gesture made Gu Cheonpa glance at me, but he didn’t say anything to provoke the Evil Smiling Demon unnecessarily.

“It’s good that you’re safe.”

How dire must the situation have been for him to take the pill in the midst of battle? The Blade Demon understood this well. Although he often cursed the Evil Smiling Demon as a sly fox behind his back, he recognized his abilities.

“I’ll repay the favor next time.”

“Before that, you might want to clean the blood off your mask.”

“I plan to keep it as it is until we finish this.”

I could sense a slight excitement in Soma’s voice. It wasn’t just anger; it was closer to the thrill of surviving a life-and-death battle after a long time.

I felt the same way. In the last fight, I experienced an increase in my sword speed. It stemmed from the desperation to save the Evil Smiling Demon, but it was still significant that I had pushed past my limits. That was what mattered—the fact that I had broken through. Having already mastered the Twelve Star Greatness in the Soaring Sword Art, this improvement likely affected my overall martial arts level.

“I felt like I was on the brink several times, but honestly, it felt incredible.”

The eyes behind Soma’s mask seemed to agree with me.

Even the Blood Heaven Blade Demon nodded in understanding.

“That’s the kind of thrill that drives everyone mad.”

It seemed that the Blade Demon had also felt his blood boiling while exchanging blows with Yang Cheogi.

“First, we need to deal with Yang Cheogi.”

Not only did Yang Cheogi try to kill us, but he also pushed the disciples of the White Mask Sect, the Evil Smiling Demon’s sect, toward death. He would continue targeting us, so he had to be dealt with as a priority.

“Moreover, he likely met with the Heavenly Society leader in person, so capturing him could help us locate the leader.”

Gu Cheonpa then asked, “Do you know where this Yang Cheogi is?”

“He’s probably hiding in the Valley of Wicked. The people he brought with him were killed, so he’ll need to report back, and it’s also the safest place for him. Plus, since he’s after the position of the Valley’s leader, he’s almost certainly returned there.”

“I’ll help you,” the Blood Heaven Blade Demon offered.

To my surprise, the Evil Smiling Demon added, “I’m very familiar with the Valley of Wicked.”

After a brief pause, he continued, “I was there once, a long time ago.”

I was startled and immediately asked, “When were you there?”

“When I was young. My master sent me there to cultivate malice. He came to retrieve me after three years.”

“What if you had died there?”

“Then he would have found another disciple.” 5

“So, you survived the Valley of Wicked at such a young age?”

The Evil Smiling Demon nodded.

“The Valley of Wicked is still a place where people live. While there are martial experts like Odd Demon, there are also people who know nothing about martial arts. There are even traders who aren’t part of the Valley, but who sell goods there because of the high profits. But don’t be complacent. Without the right information, the Valley of Wicked can be one of the most dangerous places.”

I shared the contents of the message that had arrived from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult with the two of them.

“We received word from the sect today. The mission to eliminate the leader of the Heavenly Society is still in effect, but the sect has increased our support by allowing us to request assistance three times. I plan to use one of those opportunities now. The three of us could handle it, but there’s a chance the leader of the Valley of Wicked might get involved. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks. We might as well use one of the chances we’ve been given.”

With determination, I suggested that we crush the Valley of Wicked if necessary.

“Let’s call upon the One-Slash Sword Supreme and the Great Drunken Demon to capture Yang Cheogi.”

1 : Look how tsundere he is~~ XDXDXD

2 : Glomp SFX

3 : You inspire such great loyalty with your speeches XDXDXD

4 : Of course XDXDXD

5 : Cruel efficiency.

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