Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

“Although, as your master, I wish you not to be involved in this matter.”

That was something he read, but it made Woon-seong waver. His eyes trembled. 

It was said that reaching the Semi-Divine Realm meant that a martial artist had stepped past the threshold of becoming a god, but they were clearly still human in the end. 

A human had feelings and emotions. 

As such, Woon-seong could not get rid of the feelings the letter evoked. 

“Why…is that?”

His master did not want him to get involved, but how long had he been aiming for revenge?

Woon-seong tightened his grip on the letter, trembling. 

So he did know about something. Something he didn’t tell me…

He calmed himself down enough to keep reading. 

“…do not be interested in this matter and forget about it for the rest of your life.”

I can’t do that, Master.

If he did, he would have to deny the meaning of his existence. 

Like answering his master’s resolute words, Woon-seong also resolved his will. 

Meanwhile, he read the letter from the start once more. 

“It is simply too dangerous for you. So do not be interested in this matter and forget about it for the rest of your life. That is the only way for you to live a longer life.”

That said, Woon-seong smiled. This time through, his master’s concern was clearly conveyed. 

The only reason he wrote this letter with such firm words was because he worried about me. 

That’s just like him. 

“And I do not wish for you to waste time on revenge, because it is guaranteed to be a bloody path.”

“Master.”

Woon-seong understood, but it was too late to turn back. 

It was too late to give up on revenge. 

Woon-seong had spent the entirety of his second life preparing for revenge. 

Vengeance was his sole purpose of his new life. 

Moreover, Woon-seong had now lost not one, but two masters. 

Nok Yu-on and Chun Hwi. 

Two, not one. 

That was why Woon-seong could not give up here. 

And unlike what Nok Yu-on wished, Woon-seong had died that day. 

I don’t know if you were aware, but Jwa Do-gyul and his gang attacked us that day with the intention of ending the line of the Spear Master Sect. 

Your wish for me to survive and continue the legacy of the Spear Master Sect has practically been destroyed. 

However, I have earned an opportunity. 

The opportunity for revenge!

Woon-seong snarled as he recalled the face of Jwa Do-gyul. 

He turned back to the letter. 

“However, if you truly desire to bring justice to Murim, do read what continues.” 

Justice.

That was the word Nok Yu-on used. Even as he was dying from a poisonous scheme, he was a man who called for righteous vengeance and not dirty revenge. 

Then, what of Nok Yu-on’s apprentice?

Master… There is no more justice inside me. 

Heroes and righteous men tend to die early. 

I won’t go astray from the path of a human, but I won’t become a hero either…

That is what I have pledged. 

Therefore, forgive me, as I will continue to read this not for justice, but simply for vengeance. 

For the purpose of stabbing my deep grudge into the heart of Jwa Do-gyul…

Woon-seong only wanted to know the truth about the demonic text the Spear Master Sect had been framed with. 

He had no need for great causes such as justice. 

Although it was different from what Nok Yu-on hoped, Woon-seong continued to read. 

The first part of the letter ended there. 

Woon-seong turned the paper over, glancing at the back. 

On the other side was the reason the Spear Master Sect was framed. 

Hmm?

Or not. 

The writing on the back was not what Woon-seong expected. 

It was another short message. 

“If you have decided to bring justice to Murim, take the knife and the letter contained with it and go to the City of Yichang in Hubei Province. Find the master of the Justice Blood Sect. He will tell the truth to everything you want to know. Burn this message after you finish reading it.”

There was not a single mention as to why the Spear Master Sect had been framed. 

There was only a plan for what Woon-seong should do next, like visiting Hubei and burning the letter. 

Woon-seong could not take his eyes off the paper. 

It was because of the final thing written, at the very end of the letter. 

“Finally, my apprentice, I love you.”

Woon-seong closed his eyes. 

Just as his mind had barely been calmed down, his emotions were sent into a mess again. 

His eyes darkened. 

Woon-seong tamped down on all of his emotions. Having this kind of heart was only allowed after he had finished his revenge and placed the heads of his enemies before his master’s grave. 

Before that, emotional outbursts were strictly forbidden. 

Reigning in his emotions, Woon-seong opened his eyes. 

He looked at the letter in his hand. 

It was not a long letter, but it was one written by his master. 

This letter may be the last thing remaining of my master. But he wants me to burn it?

I don’t want to do that. I want to keep it like a treasure…

But my master wouldn’t say such words without a reason… There must be a reason why he said that. 

“Sigh…”

Woon-seong sighed to himself. 

Then he raised the letter and injected the Divine Flame into the paper. 

Crackle—

The paper immediately started to burn, starting from the corner and gradually spreading. 

Woon-seong paused for a moment. 

One corner was not getting incinerated for some reason. 

The flame refused to touch one part of the letter as if there was something special protecting the paper there. 

Woon-seong glanced at the corner. 

Were those words?

It was one last sentence, the last message Nok Yu-on had desperately hid with all his strength and intended to convey to Woon-seong. 

Woon-seong read the sentence aloud. 

“Believe not the Imperial Court…?”

Once Woon-seong read the words, the Divine Flame wiped out the sentence, as if the strength of the fire-proofing had run out. 

Fwoom—

Do not believe the Imperial Court.

After the letter became a pile of ashes, Woon-seong ruminated over the final sentence. 

My master says not to believe the Imperial Court. 

How should I interpret this?

Does it mean that the Imperial Court is not in a normal state, just like Sage Do Jin-myung said? Did the Cult of the Inverted Sky take over the Imperial Court? 

Hmm.

Does it mean that my master discovered this over a decade ago?

Woon-seong groaned. Perhaps all the answers would be found at the Justice Blood Sect.

He raised the knife up to look at it. 

A dagger containing seven pieces of jade. 

The black fifth piece of jade caught his eyes. Why was that piece black?

Jade was often used to make accessories, serving as an ornamental stone. 

Of course, jade was also believed to harness the yin-yang of nature, allowing it to become the imperial gem.

Woon-seong could not believe he had to show the Justice Blood Sect a sword with jade stuck into it. 

This knife had to be some kind of symbol. 

The City of Yichang in Hubei Province…

That was a long way from Gansu Province. But it was also on the way towards King Jinseong’s palace. 

Thinking like that, Woon-seong muttered, “Not an easy road.”

Not an easy road. 

What Woon-seong was thinking about was not simply the problem of distance. 

Hubei Province was one of the most rough and dangerous places in Murim. 

Hubei Province was home to the Shaolin and Wudang Sects, which were two of the most admired Ten Great Sects. 

It also happened to be  home to the Jegal Family [1], a group of machine masters known as the most intelligent people in Murim history. 

Most of all, the headquarters of the Martial Alliance was located in the city of Hankou. contemporary romance

Some of the most powerful groups of the Orthodox side were situated in Hubei. 

And the leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon entering there?

If anyone finds out, even I won’t be able to escape in one piece. 

My level of martial arts has already reached the level of ‘perfection and return to the truth’. It would be safe to assume that there is practically nobody who can sense the force of a demonic practitioner from me. 

It should be impossible unless they were someone in the realm of the Twin Stars. 

But according to what is known, there was almost no chance of me encountering the Twin Stars. 

The two guardians of Murim, the Twin Stars. 

The Buddhist Star had hidden himself in the Shaolin Temple for years and showed no signs of coming out. There were rumors that he had already passed away. Since there was no news from the Shaolin, he was probably just preoccupied. 

And the Sword Star? He was known to isolate himself even further.  As a matter of fact, his current residence was in Mount Paektu [2]. Having retreated to that mountain, he rarely came out unless something special happened. 

Therefore people said that the Buddhist Star had hidden in the Buddhist Mind and the Sword Star was strolling about in the Forest of Swords. 

The Twin Stars would probably not appear. Unless something truly unusual happened, Woon-seong could set worries about them aside.

The problem was Jwa Do-gyul.

Although there was a good distance between Yichang and Hankou, Yichang was still within reach of the Martial Alliance. 

It was a slim chance, but Woon-seong could not completely deny the possibility of encountering Jwa Do-gyul. 

And when that happens, can I suppress my anger?

I was able to suppress my boiling rage until now, but that was since I didn’t see his face.

Can I possibly stay calm when I see his face…

The qi from the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body coursed through Woon-seong’s body. The strength of the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body, which had been boosted by body modification, not only relaxed his muscles and reinvigorated his blood, it also served to calm his mind. 

Meanwhile, a ship carrying Woon-seong charged through the Yangtze River.

[1] The Zhuge, or Jegal, surname is basically synonymous with wisdom and strategy due to Zhuge Liang and Romance of the Three Kingdoms

[2] Paektu Mountain, also known as Changbai Mountain, is located on the Chinese-North Korean border. 

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