Chapter 681: The Heavenly Demon Destroys the World

TL: FoodieMonster007

"You might think it's just a superstition."

When the liquor had first spoiled, Geom Mugeuk had teased the anxious Drunken Demon, asking what kind of Demon Supreme would believe in superstitions.

The Drunken Demon's gaze deepened as he looked down at the spoiled liquor.

"It's not a superstition to me."

Just then, Geom Mugeuk's voice came from behind him.

"If it's not for you, Hyung…"

As the Drunken Demon turned, Geom Mugeuk finished his sentence.

"Then it's not for me either."

Geom Mugeuk walked over to the Drunken Demon's side and looked down at the spoiled liquor with him.

"It seems we're still not enough."

The Drunken Demon stared at Geom Mugeuk, his expression asking what he meant.

"It seems we need to become stronger, and things need to go better for us."

Because just as our fate has changed, so must have theirs.

Right, I shouldn't just assume that because we've gotten stronger, our enemies have gotten weaker. They could take a different path than before and produce an absurd result. I can't let my guard down until the very end.

"This spoiled liquor is telling us to live more diligently."

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

"How can you live any more diligently than you already do?"

"You must not know, Hyung. I slack off a lot. I went hunting with you and Father, and didn't we just have a drink?"

"That drink we had was the first in a hundred years. And that hunt was the first time the three of us have ever gone together. You talk a big game, but you've never once properly had fun."

The Drunken Demon knew Geom Mugeuk better than anyone, proving that seeing someone often doesn't mean you know them well.

"You just haven't seen my wild drinking parties with my friends, Hyung."

"I'm sure a gathering of successors was just so wild."

"We even danced. What's with you?"

Geom Mugeuk threw open the main door and windows to air the place out. He then picked up a wooden bucket from the corner and began to clean up the liquor.

"Just leave it. I'll clean it up later."

"And worry yourself sick while you clean it alone?"

The two of them cleaned up the liquor and washed the cups together. Saying they might as well clean everything while they were at it, Geom Mugeuk rolled up his sleeves. In the end, the two of them cleaned the entire Division Leader's quarters.

"You're not going to brew any more for a while, right?"

He thought that would be the obvious answer.

"I'm going to brew more."

The reason for it was Geom Mugeuk himself.

"You said you'd believe this superstition, didn't you? Then I have to keep brewing. To see if it spoils worse, or less. The liquor is constantly sending us a signal."

Geom Mugeuk could feel it. It was the Drunken Demon's intention for him to use that signal to fight more carefully. He could feel his brother's heart, anxious and upset, but still willing to let him know.

"Next time I leave the Cult and come back, I'm coming straight to you first, Hyung. Elder! I apologize in advance!"

"Come last. If you're busy, you don't have to come at all. I'll be fine."

The Drunken Demon walked out of the building first. Geom Mugeuk followed behind him and said.

"Now that you have a woman to protect, it seems you're finally maturing, Hyung."

"As if?"

The Drunken Demon took a long drink from the Hyeollu at his waist, then walked into the thick, fog-like alcoholic haze.

"Where in the world is there a mature drunkard?"

After parting with the Drunken Demon, the place Geom Mugeuk sought was his father's residence.

In front of the residence, Hwi dropped his concealment and revealed himself.

"Young Cult Leader, you've arrived?"

Hwi greeted Geom Mugeuk with the same unchanging demeanor as always.

"Have you been well, Uncle?"

"Yes, I have been well."

Hwi's gaze toward Geom Mugeuk was soft. It was the only time Hwi, who normally never revealed his emotions, would soften.

"The Cult Leader has not yet retired for the night. Please wait a moment."

Hwi disappeared and then reappeared.

"He says you may enter."

Geom Mugeuk opened the door and stepped inside. It was his father's bedchamber, which he had entered once before.

"You're not asleep yet. Ah!"

Geom Mugeuk, who was about to greet him, stared at his father with a surprised expression.

His father was wearing floral pajamas, the very ones he had bought as a gift in Wuhan. Geom Mugeuk beamed with joy.

"They suit you perfectly! My gift is much more practical and better than Hyung's, isn't it? Where did you shove that scroll? You've already thrown it away, right? I'll keep it a secret from Hyung."

As Geom Mugeuk's gaze swept around the room, it stopped on a spot where he and his brother were.

The scroll was hanging on the wall.

Geom Mugeuk wasn't moved just because it was hanging on the wall. It was because of where it was hung.

The scroll was hung in the position most visible when his father lay in bed. The image of his father gazing at his sons before falling asleep came to mind.

Geom Mugeuk stared at the scroll silently for a moment. Hanging here in his father's room, it looked new again.

"Hyung will be so happy when he sees this."

"Muyang has already seen it."

"What? When?"

Geom Mugeuk stared at his father, his face full of surprise.

"Muyang was the one who hung it there."

Did Hyung come on his own? Or did Father call for him? Either way, it showed how much the two of them had changed.

"Father, next time, let's have a portrait of the three of us painted. Should I send the Demonic Army to Wuhan right now to capture an artist?"

In the past, he would have started by saying no. But he didn't say no.

"What brings you here at this late hour?"

"Well, for most people, it's still early evening."

As his father's eyes narrowed, Geom Mugeuk quickly said.

"I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"I've come to learn the Nine Calamities Demonic Art."

Despite the sudden request, his father didn't seem very surprised.

"Did you know I would come?"

His father nodded.

"Didn't you notice that my recent seclusion training was effective? I knew you would come at some point."

"Of course I had to come. If I don't learn it now, when will I?"

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

So far, he had learned up to the Fifth Technique of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.

"I believe it's time for me to learn the Sixth Technique."

The Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Techniques were martial arts performed by the Heavenly Demon Soul. In practice, this meant the final technique of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art was the Sixth Technique.

The Sixth Technique, the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World.

The Heavenly Demon destroys the world.

The final move, known as the most powerful in the Nine Calamities Demonic Art.

However, the final, sixth technique was extremely difficult to execute. Since it was a technique that poured out almost all of one's inner arts at once, a single misstep could result in severe internal injuries.

"I am ready, Father."

Geom Woojin, who had been gazing silently at his son, rose from his seat.

"Follow me."

Still in his pajamas, Geom Woojin grabbed only the Heavenly Demon Sword and went outside.

Geom Mugeuk followed behind him.

He felt a sense of freedom from the sight of his father, holding only a sword while dressed in his pajamas. It was a feeling he had never felt from his father before.

The two arrived at a training ground deep within the inner court.

It was a different training ground from the one Geom Mugeuk had visited to meet his father before. This place was surrounded by iron walls.

Geom Mugeuk knocked on a wall.

"This wall is incredibly thick, isn't it?"

"There are ten more such walls built behind it. At ten-pace intervals."

"Is this a place for locking up criminals so they can't escape?"

Just then, a particular wall caught Geom Mugeuk's eye.

Behind it stood another wall, just large enough for an adult to hide behind. It was no ordinary iron wall.

"Is that… Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron?"

To his surprise, his father nodded.

"Why is that precious Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron here?"

Moreover, its thickness was immense.

"What on earth is this room for?"

His father didn't tell him, as if to say he would find out later.

"Now, try to execute the Sixth Technique."

He already knew the incantation, so he could at least try. He had never executed it before, nor had he ever seen his father execute it.

As Geom Mugeuk prepared to execute the Sixth Technique, his father stepped behind the wall of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't let you commit the unfilial act of harming your own father, can I?"

The moment he heard those words, he understood.

This wall of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron in front of him had been erected to block the power of the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World. It meant the technique was powerful enough to potentially injure even his father.

Then what about this room made of iron walls and the other iron walls behind it? They were meant to measure the power of the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World, and also to prevent that power from escaping outside. Just how strong is it?

"Normally, to use the Sixth Technique, you would need to train the form in earnest for several months, or ten days at the very fastest, before you could execute it."

"But why are you already going behind the wall?"

Then, an unexpected answer came.

"Because it's you."

It meant he might be able to unleash it on his first try. It also meant he held his son's talent in that high regard.

"How long did it take you, Father?"

"Ten days."

"Then it should only take me a day. Since the one teaching me is you, Father."

That familiar sneer formed on his father's lips.

"Alright, I'll begin."

Geom Mugeuk took a deep breath, then moved his inner qi according to the incantation and executed the Sixth Technique.

However, the technique did not manifest.

"Your movement of inner qi is too slow."

His father came out from behind the wall and explained the incantation in detail. It was an explanation from a different realm than when he was at the Tenth Star.

"Execute it again."

This time, too, his father went behind the wall of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron.

He thought his father might have said something like, 'I don't need a wall like this.' However, his father showed no shame in hiding his body behind the wall.

Geom Mugeuk understood the reason.

Because it was the Nine Calamities Demonic Art. Because it was his father's own martial art. He wouldn't have done this for any other martial art.

It didn't manifest this time either. However, he could feel that the movement of his inner qi was different from before.

"Something feels different."

How could it be the same, with such a teacher and such a student? It changed with every lesson.

"This time, my inner arts imbued the sword! Just a little, though."

Execute and fail, execute and fail again.

Geom Mugeuk would ask, and his father would explain.

A few hours passed like that. The night deepened and time crept toward dawn, but his father did not stop teaching.

He felt it every time, but when teaching martial arts, his father was a completely different person.

And then, finally!

The moment came when his efforts bore fruit.

An immense amount of qi seemed to gather on Geom Mugeuk's the Black Demon Sword.

HWAAAAAAAANG!

Light burst forth from the Black Demon Sword, which was aimed forward.

"……"

The world turned white. It was as if the sun had exploded right before his eyes. There was a massive explosion, but not a sound could be heard.

The iron wall vanished. It simply melted away. The wall standing behind it vanished, and then the wall far behind that one vanished as well. Everything in all directions was disappearing.

When the light faded, there was nothing left around him.

Everything visible to the eye had disappeared. This was no longer a room made of iron walls. Sunlight shone down from the vanished ceiling, and the blue sky was visible.

The only thing left was the wall of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron that had been erected in front of him.

"Father!"

Geom Mugeuk cried out in alarm, and his father walked out from behind the wall.

"……"

Geom Mugeuk let out a sigh of relief.

He now understood why the technique was named the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World. It was a martial art that annihilated everything.

This is an insane martial art.

Geom Mugeuk asked his father in a trembling voice.

"Was it a success?"

Geom Woojin nodded. As if he had expected him to execute it in a single day, his father was not surprised.

Geom Mugeuk jumped up and down with joy. He could finally use all the techniques of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, right up to the last one.

"I did it!"

Then he collapsed to the ground. All the inner arts in his qi center had vanished. It was a single move that could only be used by expending all of one's inner arts.

Geom Woojin looked around. He was supposed to gauge the power by how many iron walls were left, but there was nothing left at all.

Power beyond measurement.

It was because Geom Mugeuk's vast and pure inner arts were so immense. Even the wall made of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron had been deeply gouged.

Geom Woojin stared at his son with a look of surprise and admiration before speaking calmly.

"When you execute the Sixth Technique, anyone passing beyond the fence will die, and people in distant buildings will die too. Every living thing in sight will die. People lying on the ground will die, and people flying away will also die. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Geom Woojin warned him of the consequences of using this martial art carelessly.

He said this because he now knew his son well. He knew his son was the type to be scarred for a long time if any innocent victims were created.

Geom Mugeuk made a request to his father.

"I want to see your Heavenly Demon Destroys the World, Father."

The Heavenly Demon Destroys the World, achieved with the Twelfth Star mastery.

He might have said something like, 'Ask me after you've achieved complete mastery of the Tenth Star.'

For some reason, Geom Woojin drew the Heavenly Demon Sword.

"Wait! I have to get behind the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron wall too! Father, your son is going to die!"

However, light was already pouring out from the Heavenly Demon Sword.

"……"

Just as he thought he was dead, Geom Mugeuk saw it.

The light, which seemed ready to spread across the entire world, was shining only around his father.

Father is controlling the enhanced qi of the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World!

The light that should have scattered in all directions gradually gathered into one spot, forming the shape of a sword.

The moment the sword of pure white light was complete!

SHYAAAAAAAANG!

With a sound like a cool breeze he had never heard before, the sword of light flew toward the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron. His father had aimed for a corner.

PWAAAAAAAANG!

The sword of light passed straight through the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron. That thick slab of iron was pierced as if it were tofu.

"Ah!"

A gasp of admiration escaped Geom Mugeuk's lips.

It was the first time he had ever seen such a thick piece of Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron pierced in a single move.

Geom Woojin asked calmly.

"Did you see?"

His father could probably execute the Heavenly Demon Destroys the World to annihilate everything, just as he himself had done. And by achieving the Twelfth Star mastery, he must have succeeded in gathering that power into one.

His father controlled destruction. There was an order to his father's destruction.

"Yes, I saw it clearly."

Once again, his father had nonchalantly set up a new milestone for his son.

Then, letting out a big yawn, he walked away from the site.

"I'm going to sleep."