Chapter 2: Thunder storm spiritual power

Although I wasn’t physically injured, I experienced excruciating pain throughout my body as I learned manners.

I suspected it was something akin to the bone-shattering techniques I’d read about in martial arts novels. Now, though, my body felt incredibly light, and a message popped up.

[Agility increases by 1.]
[Mental Strength increases by 1.]

Two stat increases in exchange for 30 minutes of agonizing pain… Still, I never wanted to experience that again.

“You have a high tolerance for pain. I was about to stop if you fainted, but you endured it for over 30 minutes with a child’s body…”

I had gritted my teeth and held on, but perhaps I should have just surrendered to the pain and fainted.

Still, smooth words flowed from my lips.

“To learn martial arts from the Heavenly Demon, shouldn’t I possess this much mental fortitude?”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“Indeed. Some offer mountains of gold and treasures for a sliver of my teachings. You must at least show this much effort to make it worthwhile for me to teach you.”

She opened her eyes and spoke again.

I hadn’t hoped for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

Well, that would be a lie, but even a Rare-grade or higher cultivation technique would be amazing.

‘Were the skill grades Normal, Advanced, Rare, Heroic, Unique, and Legendary?’

On Earth, some people awakened with martial arts skills. I’d seen a video of someone with a Heroic-grade martial art defeating an A-rank monster with their bare hands.

‘Hey, since she’s the Heavenly Demon, she might toss me a Heroic-grade technique or two, right?’

She seemed to consider for a moment before speaking.

“I’ll give you a choice.”

“A choice?”

“One is easy, allows you to grow strong quickly, but you won’t be able to progress beyond the Transformation Realm.”

I knew that only the heads of the Six Demonic Arts Clans and the Twelve Elders had reached a realm beyond Transformation.

It wasn’t something I could aspire to, so a martial art that allowed me to quickly reach the peak of Supernal Realm was quite appealing.

“The other is incredibly complex, makes it impossible to gain strength quickly, and will be incredibly painful until you reach a certain level. However, it allows you to progress beyond the Transcendent Realm.”

The Transcendent Realm…? In the Demonic Heavenly Sect, only the current Heavenly Demon before me had reached that realm.

‘She’s offering to teach me a martial art that can lead to that realm?’

“If I may ask…”

Confusion clouded her face.

“What is it?”

“A martial art that guarantees advancement beyond the Transcendent Realm… isn’t that on par with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art…?”

I had only lived in this martial world for seven years, but thanks to the Translation skill, I had absorbed all the basic knowledge.

I couldn’t interpret her words any other way.

The latter martial art she described… was on par with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

“Correct. However, the training process is incredibly painful. And because its roots lie in righteous martial arts, it’s now considered a lost art, with no one left to practice it.”

Meaning I could use it without any issues.

‘An easy and fast path to the peak of Supernal Realm… or a complex and painful path to a realm equal to the Heavenly Demon’s…’

There was nothing to think about.

“I want to learn the latter.”

Her eyes widened.

“Are you sure? I’ll give you the secret manual and teach you personally every night, for one month only. Offering any more would go against my principles. So, if you can’t master it in a month, you’ll have to learn on your own. Are you absolutely certain?”

I hadn’t expected the Heavenly Demon to teach me for eternity. A month was longer, not shorter, than I’d anticipated.

“I don’t want to limit myself by taking the easy path. Even if it’s difficult and arduous, I want to reach that distant realm.”

I had at least another 183 years to live.

I had no intention of stopping at the peak of Supernal Realm. The Heavenly Demon could alter the temperature around her just by walking.

If possible, I wanted to reach her level and see the world from the same height.

“Good. You haven’t disappointed me yet.”

A faint smile touched her lips.

The smile on her previously cold face was like a flower blooming on a snowy mountain, rare and beautiful.

‘Bad for my heart…’

And so, I began a month of martial arts training under the Heavenly Demon.

The technique she taught me was the Ink Lightning Divine Art.

It was a modified version of the Primordial Lightning Art, the ultimate technique of the Hebei Peng Clan, one of the Five Great Righteous Clans, which the previous Heavenly Demon had obtained after destroying the clan.

This art cultivated ink-colored lightning energy within the body, stimulating both internal and external energy cultivation simultaneously. However, it caused extreme pain until the external energy cultivation reached a certain level.

Once the practitioner overcame the pain, the accumulated lightning energy granted immense strength and speed, even without using internal energy from the core.

Naturally, using internal energy would enhance speed and power even further, eventually enabling the user to summon lightning or even become lightning itself.

Of course, before dreaming of such a realm, mastering the basics was the challenge.

It had been 15 days since I started training. Yet, I hadn’t even taken the first step in mastering the art.

My stats had increased significantly, but there was no sign of a new skill forming.

I had memorized the complex verses and, under the Heavenly Demon’s guidance, become accustomed to demonic energy. Today, I was meditating in the courtyard behind her quarters.

Then, it started to rain.

“Let’s move inside.”

I thought the same and was about to stand when a thunderclap echoed through the sky.

Rumble. Boom!

A flash of lightning. Then, earth-shattering thunder.

Lightning struck right before my eyes, splitting a nearby tree in half and setting it ablaze.

Normally, seeing lightning strike so close would evoke fear or surprise, but thanks to the Heavenly Demon’s equanimity training, I felt nothing.

Instead, as I watched the lightning, a realization dawned on me.

I had been trying to gather lightning energy without truly understanding what lightning or thunder was. I had merely been repeating the verses.

With a clear image etched in my mind, I finally saw the path I needed to follow.

Something felt within reach.

“Focus.”

Her voice calmed my mind further.

Amidst the abundant demonic energy in the world, I isolated the lightning energy, drawing it into my body through my breath and guiding it to my core.

I succeeded in anchoring it within my core. Once I succeeded, the second time was easier. Little by little, I gathered the lightning energy into my core, forming a solid seed.

I exhaled and opened my eyes. A message appeared.

[Magic Power changes to Demonic Energy.]
[Skill Ink Lightning Divine Art acquired.]
[Strength, Agility, and Stamina all increase by 3.]

I had successfully learned the Ink Lightning Divine Art. My physical abilities increased, boosting my stats by 9, and a new skill was added to my skill window.

‘Others seemed to master cultivation techniques in three days. 15 days…? I really have terrible talent.’

I should give up on becoming a martial arts master.

Shouldn’t that god have given me some perk for easier cultivation if he was going to reincarnate me?

Cursing the unresponsive deity, I felt the lightning energy coursing through my body.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

‘He mastered the divine art in just 15 days…?’

The time it took to master a cultivation technique varied depending on its grade. An ordinary person could learn the Three Calamities Technique from the marketplace in three days, but divine arts were different.

Even prodigies took at least a month, and even she had taken 10 days to master the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

‘But what this child mastered…’

The Ink Lightning Divine Art.

A highly complex martial art, created by modifying righteous martial arts into demonic arts through countless experiments.

Even the elders of the Demonic Heavenly Sect had given up on learning it, clicking their tongues in frustration.

In fact, it was arguably more difficult than the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

She had intended to tease the impertinent child who dared to trespass behind her quarters and shout at her with this seemingly impossible technique for three weeks before teaching him a simpler one.

But he actually mastered it.

‘If it were me…’

Could she have mastered this technique in 15 days when she first started learning martial arts? She didn’t have an answer.

The lack of a definitive answer meant the answer was already there.

This child could reach her level, or perhaps even surpass her.

A thought occurred to Cheon Ha-yeon, the Heavenly Demon, for the first time in her life.

A thought she had never entertained before… the possibility of someone surpassing her.

‘Interesting.’

There were still 15 days left of her agreed teaching period. How would he change in 15 days? In 10 years?

For the first time, Cheon Ha-yeon found herself interested in a man.