Chapter 514: Give it to me just once.
by Afuhfuihgs
You really are your mother’s bloodline.
My heart dropped at the words spat from my father’s mouth.
“What did you say?”
I asked again, wondering if I’d heard him correctly.
I had to.
It was too significant a revelation to just let slide.
‘That I’m my mother’s bloodline?’
It was obvious. I was my mother’s child.
No.
‘It wouldn’t matter even if I wasn’t.’
Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered.
I had entertained the thought that maybe I wasn’t.
I had heard that Mother was the disaster that fell in the previous generation.
That meant she wasn’t human.
Meaning she was something beyond human, like a Blood Demon (血魔) or Heavenly Demon (天魔).
I had considered the possibility that I might not be her kin.
Still, it wouldn’t matter.
‘Even if I wasn’t my mother’s bloodline.’
I was her child.
The winter path where I walked holding my little sister close, her hand clasped in mine.
I hadn’t forgotten those times when her hand’s warmth made it bearable, even in the cold.
So it didn’t matter.
But it did matter.
‘What was that just now…’
If it turned out I wasn’t my mother’s biological child, it would get complicated, leading to questions about whose son I really was.
But denying I was my father’s son? Anyone could see I was his child.
Whatever the case, it was all fine.
So, confirmation that I was indeed my mother’s child should have been welcome.
The important thing was why he said it now.
Especially while looking at my changed appearance.
“What… exactly do you mean by that?”
“…”
Seeing my obviously altered state, I thought of Mother.
Even the way he spoke, filled with longing, felt foreign.
The implication of those words was clear.
‘He’d seen this side of Mother too.’
It was a rather bewildering thought.
What did it mean for Mother to have had this side to her?
Setting aside my father’s longing, the thought sent a chill down my spine.
I knew one person who gave off the same aura as I did now.
‘Actually, two.’
I couldn’t be sure about one of them, so I’ll leave them be.
But the other one, the one I was certain about…
‘The Blood Demon (血魔).’
I hated to admit it, but it was true.
That damn feeling I got when he looked at me and smiled.
That arrogant, detestable gaze and stare… I felt it emanating from myself too.
I had thought this was a matter of demonic energy.
That the Blood Demon had planted demonic energy within me, and absorbing it completely during my metamorphosis had caused me to develop a similar aura.
That’s what I’d thought, but…
‘What if Mother gave off this vibe too?’
That’s… problematic.
The reason being:
The Blood Demon was a disaster. Mother was also a disaster.
So what did that make me, radiating the same aura as those two?
[Kid.]
As my thoughts deepened, Shin Noyah interjected urgently.
It was likely a warning that going further was dangerous.
But my thoughts wouldn’t stop.
Yeon Ilcheon’s words came to mind.
- “You are a disaster.'”
Words I’d forcibly dismissed as bullshit.
No, I’d tried to move past them, but they’d lodged themselves in my heart.
They were becoming increasingly clear.
Am I truly a disaster?
That damn thought began to fill my head.
Meanwhile.
In the midst of all this.
Do you know what’s even more fucked up?
The fact that I was starting to think it wouldn’t really matter even if I was a disaster.
‘Fuck… am I crazy?’
It hadn’t even been a year since I resolved not to become a disaster, at the very least.
And yet, look at me now.
Thinking it wouldn’t matter if I was a disaster was undeniably chilling.
Is this also a side effect of the metamorphosis?
Fuck.
There’s no way this is okay.
What the hell is okay about this?
I wanted to slap myself to snap out of it, but I held back with Father right there.
Snap out of it.
I’ll really screw myself over like this.
Or maybe not?
Am I already screwed?
“Third son.”
“…!”
My father’s voice barely brought me back to reality.
Now wasn’t the time for contemplation.
What mattered was that Mother had come up in conversation.
Just as I was about to ask him about it again…
“I’ll head up first.”
“…What?”
I had to wear a dumbfounded expression at my father’s abrupt words.
Heading up…?
“So suddenly?”
At my incredulous question, Father looked up towards the ceiling.
“Looks like the Tang family head has arrived.”
The words that the Poison King had arrived outside.
Hearing that, I tried projecting my senses, but I felt nothing.
All I felt was emptiness.
‘Is it because of that thing outside?’
Was it called the Wheel of Fire Citadel (火輪城)?
A power that changed the sky’s color and erased presence.
As long as that was active, could it be that I couldn’t sense the opponent’s presence either?
What principle, exactly, caused such a phenomenon to manifest?
Just as a fleeting curiosity struck me…
Father walked past me, brushing my side.
Was he really planning to leave just like that?
“Wait a moment, Father. We haven’t finished talking…”
As I moved to stop him, Father’s gaze turned towards me.
“You are not yet qualified.”
I had to frown deeply at my father’s words.
Qualified?
“…What qualification are you talking about? What qualification is needed to hear about Mother?”
Was he implying I should receive the Young Master position? If it was something I had to do anyway, he could at least tell me a bit.
Annoyance rising, I was about to lash out…
“Have you forgotten what I told you last time?”
Father interrupted me.
“I distinctly told you to reach the ‘Composition’ (構成) stage.”
“…!”
“You haven’t reached it yet.”
The condition was that if I wanted to know Mother’s location, I had to raise the Nine Flames Wheel Technique (九炎火輪功) to the Composition stage.
So this applied to hearing the story as well?
‘This sucks.’
Getting even one piece of information is damn difficult.
I’m only at the Seventh Star now; when will I ever reach Composition?
It’s so far away.
Even trying not to feel impatient, it was just too distant.
‘…It’s a place I barely reached even in my past life.’
Due to the harsh nature of Fire Arts (火功), cultivating and building mastery was incredibly difficult.
It was a level I reached the limit at even after pouring in so much internal energy (內氣); how long would the standard path take?
‘I’m going crazy.’
It’s hard to grasp.
How many years? A few years would be lucky.
My current level was achieved by devouring the experience and countless fortuitous encounters from my past life.
‘But I can’t just abandon this and go back to how it was then.’
The solid foundation I’ve built up until now.
If I were to build my cultivation based on internal energy again like in my past life, everything would return to nothing (無).
I knew from past experience that merely raising my cultivation level was meaningless, so I couldn’t do that.
So, I considered throwing a tantrum and begging him to just tell me…
‘But that… wouldn’t work either.’
I could tell by looking into Father’s eyes.
His determined gaze clearly stated he wouldn’t tell me unless I reached Composition.
There was no other way.
I couldn’t just ignore him and pester him.
You only act defiant when you can handle the consequences.
Knowing that I’d just obliterated the Heavenly Venerate (天尊), how could I possibly defy him?
I endured it.
As I suppressed my burning questions, Father shifted his gaze again.
Watching him, I decided to ask something else.
“…But, sir.”
I gestured vaguely behind me.
“What about that… no, what about him? Are you just going to leave him like that…?”
Father glanced back at my words.
Where my hand pointed…
Fwoosh…
The Heavenly Venerate was still engulfed in flames, burning.
“…”
Father’s expression changed as he looked at it.
I definitely saw it.
That ‘Oops’ look in his eyes.
…No way he forgot, right?
After setting him on fire himself?
‘No… probably not.’
He wouldn’t have.
Surely Father wouldn’t forget something like that.
Father paused for a moment, looking at the Heavenly Venerate, then quickly turned his head as if erasing that hesitation.
“…Just leave him. The flames shouldn’t take too long to die out.”
At Father’s words, I examined the Heavenly Venerate’s flames.
‘If they won’t go out, does that mean there’s a reason to leave him like this?’
He did say earlier it was to burn something.
‘What was he trying to burn?’
Burning something other than the flesh.
I couldn’t comprehend the meaning.
Did the secret technique Father used have another purpose?
Thump.
As I pondered this, Father walked towards the entrance.
Should I follow?
What should I do?
Such thoughts crossed my mind.
Just then.
“Wait here. I’m going to fetch the Poison King.”
“Huh…? Me?”
He wanted me to wait here, watching the burning Heavenly Venerate and Elder Il?
Father’s words felt rather strange.
If the Poison King was coming, why couldn’t we just wait together?
And the formation array (陣法) that had been blocking this entrance…
‘…I think Father tore it apart.’
Crushed and pulverized, if they knew the location, they should find it quickly.
So, just as I thought we could wait together…
“Weren’t you here to investigate something?”
“…!”
I swallowed hard at his pointed remark.
Father had noticed it long ago.
That I had business in this space.
‘Oh, crap.’
Along with what Tang Jemun had mentioned.
This space was likely related to the Heavenly Martial Body (天武之體) creation plan.
No, it definitely was.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have hidden it with such a thick formation array and built something this deep inside.
Moreover.
‘The atmosphere feels different.’
The miasma (毒氣) I’d felt since arriving.
And the faint sight of demonic corpses (魔物) beyond the back.
Currently, the residual energy (內氣) and fighting spirit (鬪氣) from the battle protected the space, but there was something else.
‘Does that mean…’
Father’s words about going out to face the Poison King…
I think I understood his hidden intention.
‘He’s buying me some time.’
‘Figure out what you need to figure out?’
Figuring out Father’s intention, I broke out in a cold sweat.
I wondered just how much he had figured out.
Feeling a chill creep up my spine, I first paid my respects.
“…Thank you.”
“…”
Flick-!
The sound of embers sparking was heard.
When I lifted my head, Father was already gone.
As I stared blankly at the empty space, Shin Noyah spoke.
[He figured everything out, didn’t he?]
“…Yeah, seems like it.”
I really should have just waited patiently for him to return.
My pointless move just caused more trouble.
“…Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and started walking.
So I was found out.
Since he gave me time right now.
I had to investigate what I came here for.
I headed towards Elder Il, who was still trembling.
“Hhhuu… G-g-g…”
Elder Il was trembling violently, seemingly half out of his mind.
He looked really bad, no matter how I looked at him.
“Hhuk… G-g-g… Hh…”
He already looked like an old man, but now he seemed even more frail.
Seeing that, I let out a small sigh.
“What a shame.”
It was disappointing.
Now that he’d ended up like this, there wasn’t much more I could do.
I had wanted to be the one to put him in this state, you see.
“Such a shame, isn’t it?”
I asked, lowering my gaze, but Elder Il just stared at me as if I were a monster.
“M-monster… monster…”
“Monster?”
Was he talking about me?
Or Father?
Either way, it’s about the same.
Though the meaning might differ.
‘Maybe I can find something out.’
Elder Il’s mind had already collapsed.
I thought it might be an act, but it didn’t seem like it.
What on earth happened to him to break him like this?
In this state, even torture wouldn’t work.
‘So, do I need to catch and interrogate the others who were complicit?’
Elder Il couldn’t have been the only one involved.
No matter how influential he was, he didn’t seem like the type of person capable of orchestrating this alone.
This was starting to get troublesome.
“Huh?”
I noticed something odd about the trembling Elder Il.
He was clutching something tightly in both hands.
What is it?
He seems to be holding something.
As I reached out to check…
“Ah… No…! This… this at least…!”
Sensing I was trying to take it, Elder Il began to resist.
This is annoying.
“Should I just rip it off, arm and all?”
“…!”
Elder Il froze at my casually spoken, annoyed threat.
“Rip… rip it off? Ah… no…”
Did he react to the threat of ripping off his arm?
Why?
It doesn’t matter.
What mattered was that he reacted.
“That’s right. If you don’t hand it over, I’ll rip your arm off.”
Ah, and obviously, this isn’t a threat.
I genuinely intend to rip it off if you don’t give it to me.
I didn’t have time for tedious arguments.
Elder Il seemed to realize I was serious.
With a face crushed by fear, he extended his hand towards me.
What could he be holding that made him react like this?
Meanwhile, he didn’t loosen his grip on his clenched fist.
So.
Grind-!
“Kuaaaahhhk!”
I grabbed Elder Il’s wrist and crushed it.
A scream erupted, piercing my ears.
I considered smashing his mouth too.
But as my grip loosened, allowing me to see what he was holding, I decided against it.
“What is this?”
I tilted my head, looking at the fallen object.
It was a jewel.
A small jewel, at that.
Why was he clutching something like this?
I casually picked up the jewel from the floor and examined it more closely.
“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything else.”
Just as I thought it was just a jewel…
Vwoom-!
“…!”
The jewel in my hand suddenly began to vibrate.
Moreover, the energy within it seemed to surge and spread outwards.
As the energy brushed against me, my body reacted involuntarily.
It was intense.
Not only the potent poison contained within, but the sheer amount of energy writhing like a trapped beast was immense.
“…Huh.”
Seeing this, I could be certain.
There was something special about this jewel.
I immediately thrust the jewel back towards Elder Il.
“What is this?”
I asked, but Elder Il just stammered incoherently, clearly not in his right mind.
Yet, his eyes were fixed intently on the jewel.
“Hmm.”
In this situation, I wouldn’t get any useful information.
If his body was broken, maybe, but with his mind shattered, there was nothing I could do.
Do I really need to catch someone else?
As that thought crossed my mind, another idea surfaced.
There was one method.
It was just… not a very pleasant method.
“…Still, I should probably check it out.”
I wondered if it could even affect the part of him whose mind was broken.
But it’s better than not trying.
Now wasn’t the time to be picky.
Gulp-
“Gurgle…!”
I abruptly grabbed Elder Il by the neck.
Thump-!
My heart pounded violently.
The energy spread out.
I felt my eyes grow hot.
The energy bound to my heart flowed through my hand and into Elder Il.
“Keeeuuuhhhhuuuuughhh!”
Elder Il’s body convulsed violently from the sudden surge of energy.
I continued pushing the energy into him without stopping.
Elder Il’s body greedily devoured my energy.
Feeling that, I infused my intent into the energy.
[From now on.]
This was something…
[I am your sky.]
It was similar to the method the Heavenly Demon used.
Hanam.
Deep beneath it.
A place where a cold aura, so intense it could freeze the very air, raged.
There lay a young man, eyes closed.
The young man, lying as if dead,
Vwoom…
“…Hmm.”
He opened his eyes upon sensing a sudden strangeness.
The woman guarding his side flinched.
It wasn’t time for her master to wake up yet.
The woman cautiously observed the young man, as if gauging his mood.
The young man’s characteristic crimson eyes flashed, and the woman noticed something amidst it.
For some reason, her master was smiling.
“Tsk tsk…”
The young man, the Blood Demon, even chuckled.
How could he not?
“This is amusing.”
The Blood Demon swept his hand down his chest.
And so, he could feel it more clearly.
It was severed.
One of the deeply tied connection lines.
Snap! It had broken.
He had cherished it, tied it carefully, so for it to break like this…
“Whose doing could this be?”
He pondered for a moment, but the Blood Demon already knew the answer.
He had actually headed towards Sichuan.
That place was Tang territory.
So, was it the Dangs’ doing?
No, they didn’t possess such power.
It wasn’t even worth suspecting them.
The value the Tang sect held now was nothing else.
“It was the place that child headed towards.”
The place the one he was watching had gone. That was all.
Could this really be a coincidence?
The Blood Demon thought otherwise.
Furthermore.
“I hope it wasn’t.”
He also hoped it wasn’t.
If that child had grown strong enough to sever his thread, it was exactly what he wished for.
Even for the sake of the paradise he envisioned.
“Muhee.”
“Yes.”
Muhee answered Blood Demon’s call.
The Blood Demon wasn’t looking at Muhee.
Much further than that.
He was gazing towards a very distant place.
“Send word to Mudang.”
He said, smiling.
The Blood Demon could feel it.
That paradise was truly close at hand.
“It seems we can proceed with things a little faster.”
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