Chapter 101

“O great Supreme Heavenly Demon, here is your true bloodline.”

“I have already achieved my rebirth. Besides, why should I settle for this inferior tool when there are better ones that hold divine blood?”

“But I prepared this for you.”

“Enough. Did you hold any value for this child?”

“She is my… pitiful daughter.”

But the Heavenly Demon shook his head.

“That cannot be. The bloodline is already that of a dead shell; it flows with lifeless blood. How can it be called a human child? She is nothing but a corpse left behind after the soul has departed.”

According to one of the five classics, it is said that the essence of a person is composed of the spirit and body.

The spirit is the soul, the essence; therefore, it is called the mind. The body is the physical vessel, the material form.

Thus, when a person dies, the soul ascends to the heavens, passing through the afterlife and enters reincarnation, while the body falls to the ground, becoming a decayed corpse, merging back with the world.

When the body dies, the soul naturally departs.

However, very rarely, the opposite can occur: the soul dies while the body remains, still beating and breathing.

Yet, how long can a soulless body endure?

No matter how much effort is put into sustaining it—forcing every breath and mashing food down the throat—it cannot survive beyond forty-nine days before the soul enters reincarnation, vanishing without a trace.

Among Zombie Practitioners, there are jokes that went around.

At the moment the soulless body is revived, there’s a chance—due to a mix-up from Mingdo—that another soul could enter, allowing the dead to be reborn as living.

It was a living corpse, flowing with dead blood.

Every poison in the world affects the blood, so what more harm could possibly be done to blood that is already dead?

Originally, the most challenging aspect of creating a Jiangshi was ensuring that the toxicity of the concoction did not ruin the creation.

Even if one poured the most potent toxins in existence, what if the creation was not affected by that toxicity?

This was just a joke among Zombie Practitioners.

The Heavenly Demon may not have been aware of these circumstances, but he could certainly see that the essence of the blood contained nothing more than deceased spirit.

However, Choi Riyong’s condition was not normal either.

“Indeed! My child is already dead, yet she returned this way! Please, have mercy on a father who has lost his child!”

The Heavenly Demon sighed deeply.

“I have lived my entire life refusing death to exist on this land, all for the sake of the Sect’s aspirations. To slay every wicked oppressor of the Central Plain and achieve true liberation.”

“But…”

“Now that I possess this body, there is no need to fear; the time has come to fulfill the ambitions. At such a moment, should you abandon your grand cause for a trivial personal attachment?”

“This body prepared for you is more than enough.”

“Do you truly believe that?”

“Please, have mercy.”

The Heavenly Demon glared at Choi Riyong’s face.

Everything in the Heavenly Demon Sect stemmed from the Heavenly Demon, and so too did its cruelty.

“Is mere human connection so precious? Your heart has already strayed from the Sect. How can one who has turned away from doctrine and law stand before the representative of the Heavenly and Demonic entities?”

The Heavenly Demon is regarded as the manifestation of Ahura Mazda, the Heavenly God, and Angra Mainyu, the Demonic God.

To shatter the tyrants of the Central Plain, he abandoned the creation of the Heavenly God and embraced the power of the Demonic, becoming a god of destruction.

The rage of the manifested Heavenly God surged towards the aged Great Demon Lord.

Choi Riyong trembled.

Yet, amidst this, he shouted defiantly.

“Mere human connection? How can you say such a thing! You are human too! Is this not just a trivial manifestation of martial arts, to dare call it the divine will?”

The Demonic God had prepared for the destruction of the world for countless eons into the future.

Any cataclysm before that was not in accordance with the will of the gods, and the gods had no reason to destroy the insignificant Central Plain.

So, the Heavenly Demon was human.

Simply a person filled with hatred for the Central Plain.

Martial arts were tools created by humans to replicate nature, so isn’t it laughable to pose as a representative of a Demonic deity?

This is what Choi Riyong expressed.

“Presumptuous!”

The Heavenly Demon pointed a finger at Choi Riyong.

Having surpassed the supreme realm, while he had yet to undergo Reverse Flow and Return to Youth, the Heavenly Demon’s prowess was still unfathomable.

However, the black Qi assembling at his fingertips contained an absolute destruction that could not be blocked by mere transformations of the Realm.

Heavenly Demon. The infamous black Qi technique of the Supreme Heavenly Demon.

From his fingertip extended a ribbon of black death.

That deathly ribbon did not head towards Choi Riyong’s head directly.

Suddenly, a Demon Cultist, who had been quietly prostrating on the right side, exploded.

Shattered remnants of the body scattered in every direction.

Choi Riyong looked back and forth between the Heavenly Demon and the bloodstained area resembling an eclipse.

“…?”

—-

Holding the mouse, Qing muttered in disbelief.

“What’s this? Did he just fire a laser beam? Is martial arts allowed to do stuff like this?”

Of course, the Martial World was full of absurdities that one could only encounter firsthand. But still, shooting lasers felt a bit much, didn’t it?

At least, shouldn’t there be some semblance of martial arts imitation?

Even my master didn’t just fly around; he wielded a sword, even if it was a stretch to call it swordsmanship.

If you’re firing lasers from your fingers, is that even human? Or just some humanoid like a lich or other magic-themed monster?

In truth, this was Qing’s first experience manipulating this game with a keyboard and mouse.

He’d been thrown into the Martial World immediately after creating his character, never having enjoyed a single second of the actual game.

Hence, he had no idea about the control keys.

So, while pressing different buttons, he was in a hurry, desperate to click anything as Grandpa was about to kick the bucket.

Fortunately, despite being a game made by primitive folks, the basic control method of targeting enemies with a right click was commendably practical.

These folks didn’t obey international laws, after all.

But the game’s interface was surprisingly aligned with international standards, which one might applaud.

Or maybe, given their history, it’s just typical for these folks to plagiarize something familiar.

Regardless, Qing was a seasoned gamer.

He could adapt to basic control methods without needing guidance.

—-

The black ray continued to slice through the air.

With every outstretched finger, a Demon Cultist burst into pieces.

Even superiors who turned their subordinates into jokes didn’t physically explode them, so it said something about this deity.

The Heavenly Demon shouted in rage.

“What are you doing?! Stop it at once!”

But his body moved on its own; suddenly, his legs danced a peculiar footwork, his knees reacting rapidly, twisting his waist and swinging his arms.

It was a dazzling dance performed by a group of Korean youth, renowned for their resilience.

Then suddenly, he stopped dancing, jumping forwards, backwards, sideways—erratically moving, then spinning wildly in place.

The Demon Cultists pretended not to notice the Heavenly Demon’s mad behavior and maintained stern expressions.

“You! Stop! I said stop!”

The Heavenly Demon recalled the True Energies embedded within him.

Those that seemed tightly bound, protected.

There was undoubtedly the essence of the original owner lurking within.

The Heavenly Demon summoned Pachen Magi.

Envisioning the Demonic state, a hideous, ghastly presence flooded with deathly Qi surged like a tidal wave, violently boiling and engulfing the blood channel.

A fearsome enemy, one whose level of mastery was unknowable, surged forth, born from countless lives.

In comparison, Qing’s True Energy was merely a handful.

Qing’s True Energy combined all elements, regardless of yin or yang, into a solid defensive block against impending danger.

And then—

BAM!

Sadly, the gap in realization equated to a gap in capability.

The difference between Qing and the Heavenly Demon was insurmountable.

Qing’s True Energies crumbled in an instant.

Pachen Magi pounced through the gap.

—

BANG!

Qing, still chuckling with the mouse in hand, was taken aback.

Anyone would be shocked at the sudden appearance of a monster bursting through the wall.

At that moment, a shriek echoed.

“No! My security deposit!”

The man who had burst through the wall surveyed his surroundings.

He wore nothing but shorts on his broad shoulders. Scars decorated his exposed torso, making it hard to find a spot that wasn’t marred.

Just seeing those tattoos made Qing’s knees buckle.

Even worse were the gruesome marks of being butchered all over his body.

Qing pulled his neck back in fear.

“U-Um, coming this far isn’t fair play, is it? I merely played a little prank, and you break the wall for a real-life encounter? That’s kinda overkill!”

“Looks like you’ve got a miserable appearance. I thought you’d shine with a bolder spirit once you lost control of your body.”

“Hehe. Well, originally, I’m an anonymous tycoon who graduated from Seoul National University, mastered gaming, and could crush any pro gamer with a smile, but…”

“Huh. Not sure what you’re saying, but I can tell you’re not even worth my time.”

At that, Qing forced a smile that felt awkward.

“You know what? Just go ahead and do your thing. I’ll stay here quietly.”

But Qing could not finish his sentence.

Because the moment a person’s head explodes, they cannot continue speaking.

Qing’s headless torso toppled from the chair, thudding to the floor.

A pool of crimson blood quickly spread across the yellowed mat.

The Heavenly Demon stretched his lips in a smile, closing his eyes.

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon opened his eyes.

Fingers steadily curling into a fist, he slowly turned his gaze.

A furious glare locked onto Choi Riyong.

“Your daughter has become quite the rebellious one.”

“W-What…?”

“If she hadn’t been so reckless, she might have been able to observe the great cause while still conscious. Alas, this is also a consequence of your failure as a father.”

As despair stained Choi Riyong’s expression, the Heavenly Demon raised his fingers once more.

The black Qi spun and expanded from his fingertips, forming into a sphere, sending out destructive rays.

Choi Riyong calmly closed his eyes.

Missed!

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