3 — Chapter 3

“From now on, I will teach you the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.”

The Heavenly Demon said flatly.

“The Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art is a cultivation method worthy of being called a divine art. It artificially isolates chaotic demonic qi to maximize the function of pure demonic qi.”

The Heavenly Demon briefly explained.

That pure demonic qi is refined and pristine, while chaotic demonic qi is unrefined and disorderly.

“Listen well.”

The Heavenly Demon immediately began reciting the mnemonic verses of the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.

I had every reason to be flustered, but I wasn’t.

The same thing had happened in my previous life.

What bothered me now was having to sit through a long recitation of what I already knew.

For a staggering two hours at that.

“Hold on.”

So I quickly stopped him.

“What is it?”

“Don’t you have some special grand technique? Something that just plants the verses straight into my head.”

“No.”

“Really? You’re not pretending you don’t, even though you do?”

The Heavenly Demon’s gaze went past cold into frigid.

“…So I guess you really don’t.”

I gave up quickly and cursed him inwardly.

He could lie without batting an eye when it obviously existed.

As expected of the greatest villain in Murim.

Soon the Heavenly Demon’s voice filled the room.

Endless, abstruse lines that barely seemed coherent followed one another.

During that long stretch, he recited the verses without so much as a sip of water.

I nearly nodded off a few times, but I endured by organizing the things to come in my head.

“How much did you memorize?”

At last, the recitation ended.

He asked in a voice that wasn’t even hoarse, as if he didn’t feel thirst at all.

“How much do you think I memorized?”

Ordinary martial mnemonics were often hard to grasp, but the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art was on a different level.

It wasn’t just the content — the sheer length was overwhelming too, enough to recite for a full two hours.

Because of that, I only managed to memorize it after hearing it three times in a row in my previous life.

It was the most dreadful six hours of my life.

“Why answer my question with another?”

The Heavenly Demon brushed aside my question.

He didn’t seem inclined to answer, so I asked something else.

“Master, when you heard it once, how much did you memorize?”

“All of it.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

‘Of course. Why wouldn’t he.’

That’s why he drove me so hard.

Whatever talent I’d gained thanks to my severed meridians, before an absolute genius I’d still have seemed lacking.

Honestly, memorizing it after three hearings defies belief as well.

The problem was that the Heavenly Demon didn’t see it that way.

‘Come to think of it, this was where it began.’

He knew I had True Blood Severed Meridians without lifting a finger.

But it seems he couldn’t measure the full extent of my talent. He tested me from this moment until we returned to the Demon Cult.

What he called ‘talent’ comprised all factors that let one learn and display martial arts best.

It included memory, comprehension, and physical ability.

From the simple—whether I could ride a horse by myself, and if not, how fast I adapted to riding one—

To the complex—how long I took to memorize the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art, and how long until I understood it and entered its first stage.

Through such evaluations, my future training regimen would be set.

If I failed to prove my talent exceeded his expectations, I’d face hellish days again.

Driven to madness all day long.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

I didn’t come back in time to suffer the same thing.

I hated the hardship, but more than that, time was precious.

The Heavenly Demon becomes a demonic being ten years from now.

Within that time, I must grow strong enough to surpass him.

Even with growth beyond reason, it’s a near-impossible goal. I can’t afford to repeat what I already went through.

‘I need him to acknowledge my talent.’

So I have to secure as much autonomy as possible.

I intended to start laying the groundwork now.

“The truth is, I memorized it all too.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

He was doubting my claim.

From that reaction, I realized he already had a fairly accurate guess about my talent.

Namely, he didn’t think I had the talent to memorize it in one hearing.

‘Don’t doubt me. It’s real.’

He couldn’t imagine it.

That I already knew all the verses.

It was thanks to my regression, but he didn’t need to know that much.

“Since you don’t seem to believe me, I’ll recite them.”

I immediately recited the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art’s verses.

It was extremely tedious, but this was something I had to do once anyway, so I did my best.

Perhaps because of that—

I didn’t miss a single character to the end.

The Heavenly Demon’s expression had become quite a sight.

The face that was always cold had come slightly undone.

Though in truth, it was no more than a faint tremor at the corner of his eye.

But—

‘Why does he look… pleased?’

I expected him to be surprised.

But not in the slightest did I expect joy.

“Well memorized.”

The Heavenly Demon said.

The loosened expression vanished in an instant.

As if it had never changed at all.

“You can enter the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art right away.”

I almost let out a dry laugh.

That was absurd.

The first reason I considered it a deranged cultivation method was the difficulty of its verses; the second was the difficulty of its entry stage.

By “enter,”, he means the formation of the lower dantian using its verses.

In my previous life, it took a full ten days.

I just couldn’t get a feel for it.

Even after taking that long, the Heavenly Demon reacted unexpectedly.

—My eye for talent wasn’t wrong.

He showed no emotion and offered no praise.

But it felt like a pass.

Looking back, it made sense.

In hundreds of years of the Demon Cult’s history, not a single person had fully mastered the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.

‘Of course, what you gained from it was just as great.’

In my previous life, I didn’t know its true potential until I experienced a certain turning point.

But now I know. This time, I will master it.

‘I’ll also cut the entry stage time way down.’

The Heavenly Demon roughly explained how to operate it.

When you recite the verses, a small current of energy rises. You then move it along certain paths of the minor meridians and major meridians.

Then he tossed out one line.

“Do it.”

He wanted me to try it on my own immediately.

Even reliving it, it was ridiculous.

To figure it out just from the explanation?

With who I was now, I could do it without blinking, but I felt like complaining.

“Excuse me.”

“…?”

“I heard somewhere that the great orthodox sects do something called ‘True Qi Guidance’. With that, the master helps form the disciple’s dantian together.”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“Isn’t your knowledge a bit narrow? You’re the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, after all.”

“My knowledge may be narrow, but your future is about to narrow—because you talk too much.”

I almost coughed in surprise.

I’d never seen this side of him in my previous life.

The Heavenly Demon, making a joke!

But his expression was far too grim.

“C-could you maybe smile when you joke?”

The Heavenly Demon didn’t answer.

…That was a joke, right?

I quickly changed the subject.

“Before I start, can I ask one thing?”

“You may.”

“How long did it take Master to step into the entry stage?”

“I did not cultivate the Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art.”

I already knew that.

The Nine Heavens Demon-Ascension Art wasn’t compatible with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

I asked anyway to gauge what timing would look reasonable for success.

Too fast would arouse suspicion; too slow would waste time.

“Then let me ask differently. If you had entered it at my age, how long would it have taken?”

“Three days.”

I was speechless.

For someone of ordinary talent, it might be impossible even in decades.

Although it only took ten days for me, that was thanks to me being born with severed meridians.

‘He says it like it’s nothing.’

I was a little annoyed, so I spoke confidently.

“I’ll do it within that time.”

The corner of his mouth rose in an odd way.

It returned to normal even faster than before, yet that hint of a smile stuck in my mind.

“I look forward to it. Begin.”

I pretended to try for about an hour, then stopped.

If I succeeded in one go, it might backfire.

Doing in an instant what he said would take three days would be absurd.

“Hm, it’s not going as I thought.”

“You’ll need time.”

He glanced toward the window.

Darkness had already thickened outside.

“That’s enough for today. Sleep.”

“Yes.”

I washed quickly and lay down, thinking.

Tomorrow night would be the time to surprise him again.

‘With a regressor’s privilege, I’ll knock his socks off.’

The historic first night of my regression passed.

The next morning.

After we finished eating, two horses were brought to the front of the inn.

One was the Heavenly Demon’s, and the other, which he had the server purchase, was mine.

“Mount up.”

Seeing the horse brought back memories.

I never grew attached to this one, but I met another after escaping the Demon Cult.

We made a lot of memories together.

It was eleven then, so it must be growing well somewhere now.

“Where are we going on horseback?”

“Back to the main cult.”

I shook my head slightly at the natural answer.

He stared at me as if to ask what I meant.

“This is Lanzhou. The largest city in Gansu.”

“And what of it?”

“There’s a place we have to stop by before leaving.”

“Where is that?”

“Right there.”

I pointed to a lone hall towering where it could be seen from anywhere in Lanzhou.

The Heavenly Demon asked back casually.

“Do you know what that place is?”

“Of course. The Heretical Alliance’s Lanzhou branch.”

The Heretical Alliance, along with the Murim Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, was one of the three great powers of Murim.

When I said we should go to its branch, a slight crease formed between his brows, as if he found it absurd.

“What are you intending to do?”

“I’ll tell you when we get there.”

“Let’s go.”

Without further questions, he mounted and turned his horse toward the Heretical Alliance’s Lanzhou branch.

I followed after him.

“So you can ride.”

“I was forced to learn.”

“What do you mean?”

“Some weirdo once sat me on a horse and then smacked its rump. Naturally, it bolted like crazy. I clung on for dear life, and before I knew it, I was riding.”

“A nasty fellow.”

That was you, YOU.

After about a quarter of an hour, we arrived at our destination.

He gazed at me silently, as if to say, “Now tell me.”

“Do you know they issue a certain pill only to officers of the Heretical Alliance?”

“You mean the Tranquil Frost Pill.”

“I’m here to get some of those Tranquil Frost Pills.”

“Why.”

“The monk who told me about my severed meridians said it would help me.”

The Tranquil Frost Pill has the function of cooling one’s qi and blood.

If I take it, my limit for using internal energy is extended from seven minutes to around thirty to forty minutes.

Seven Minute Invincible becomes at least a Half an Hour Invincible.

Each Heretical Alliance branch should have a few. Skimming just these would keep me supplied for a while.

“Is there someone willing to give you the Tranquil Frost Pill?”

“No.”

“Then how do you plan to obtain it?”

His cold gaze fixed on me.

He seemed curious what answer I’d give.

“Well, you see.”

I stretched my words out on purpose.

“Please steal some Tranquil Frost Pills for me from there.”

“……”

The Heavenly Demon seemed at a loss for words.

He opened and closed his mouth as if to speak, then didn’t.

The ever-calm Heavenly Demon!

“Anyway, we’re master and disciple now, right? You’ve gained a disciple you won’t even mind keeping in your eye, so commemorate it with a gift. I’ll settle for a few Tranquil Frost Pills for now.”

“……”

His gaze changed visibly.

He must think I’m insane.

And that gaze—

“What are you doing? Hurry up and steal them. Master—no, dear Teacher¹

Grew even deeper.