Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 169

The grandfather and grandson sat facing each other in a deep pavilion within Yuecheng's inner fortress.

Fortress Lord Yue jumped.

"What does that mean? You're going to the So family? No."

"..."

"Are you going to become the Young Lord of the Demonic Cult? Those brats are the kind who swallow what's sweet and spit out what's bitter. I can't send you."

Although Wu Ha was still young, he was very calm. He shook his head and said, "I am not going to aim for the position of Young Lord. It is because of a person named So Baek-cheon."

"So Baek-cheon? Because of him?"

"That person is an absolute master, no, he is at a realm beyond that. I am curious what kind of aspect the martial arts of the So family has that he was able to reach such a realm."

"..."

Fortress Lord Yue was at a loss for words. Baekji's martial prowess was a realm he had neither heard of nor seen.

Wu Ha had been receiving attention as a disciple of the 'Three Immortals of Kunlun' and as a talent who would revive Kunlun. Although he was only twelve, he had already formed an inner core and was walking the path of the 'true realm'.

In front of him, who was aiming for the unprecedented goal of entering the 'flower realm' before he turned twenty... Baekji, who was estimated to be at the profound realm, not the 'flower realm', had appeared.

In reality, he was beyond that, but Wu Ha and Fortress Lord Yue's insight could not know.

Anyway, the still young Wu Ha could not suppress his fighting spirit.

"In any case, the So family is my father's family. They will not harm me."

"Didn't you see today? The Hyuk-ryeon family sent assassins to kill you. You are my only bloodline. I can't send you."

Although Fortress Lord Yue spoke firmly, he could not hide his anxiety.

It was clear that Wu Ha would follow, even if he disobeyed his words. He was as stubborn as his mother.

Fortress Lord Yue had had one daughter, as he had few descendants. When that daughter had fallen in love with a demon head of the Demonic Cult's So family, he had jumped up and down and had tried to stop her, but in the end, he had not been able to turn her back.

"...To save you, your mother fled thousands of 'li' alone. But you are going back to the den of demons... that would be to betray your dead mother's will."

Although Fortress Lord Yue tried to stop him with a heart that felt like he was spitting blood, Wu Ha's expression was calm. At last, Fortress Lord Yue brought up Kunlun.

"Weren't you on your way to the Martial Alliance under the order of your sect? How can you disobey it?"

"Originally, my two senior brothers were supposed to go. I begged to see the world, so I came down the mountain. So I will tell my senior brother that I will stop by the Demonic Cult and then go back to the main base."

Fortress Lord Yue held his forehead and leaned back.

'I should have just kept him by my side...'

While he was afraid that the Demonic Cult would harm him, the 'Three Immortals of Kunlun' had said they would take him as a disciple, so he had sent the young Wu Ha up to Mount Kunlun.

After that, he had lived in peace, but he regretted it for the first time.

If he had raised Wu Ha himself, he could have at least passed on Yuecheng...

Originally, he had been planning to have him return to secular life at an appropriate time and to hand over Yuecheng. But now that he saw him, Wu Ha had a very big dream.

The best in the world.

Since the 'Three Immortals of Kunlun' were raising him with the utmost sincerity, it might be possible. But Fortress Lord Yue felt suffocated just by imagining how difficult the process of reaching the peak would be.

It was to the point where living as the fortress lord of Yuecheng seemed like an ordinary life.

Wu Ha said, "My masters will also understand my intentions. The Demonic Cult is a mountain that must be overcome someday. This may be an opportunity to know the strengths and weaknesses of the Demonic Cult."

A tone that was too calm for a child. Fortress Lord Yue realized that he could not stop him any longer.

"If that's the case, I will give you a hundred soldiers..."

"No. If I go with that person, So Baek-cheon, there will be no problem."

Wu Ha quietly shook his head.

"Are you saying you trust him?"

"Aren't we of the same bloodline?"

Wu Ha smiled faintly for the first time.

* * *

In the best room of the Yuecheng Inn, Baekji and the four guests of the So family sat around.

"You said the So family has no descendants?"

The middle-aged scholar, Oh Jeong-ri, let out a dry cough and then said, "The head of the family, So Seong-hwi, died suddenly about ten years ago, so the line was cut off. Otherwise, why would we have come all the way to this remote Yuecheng to find a bloodline?"

"No, the brats of the So family... what on earth did they do without having children?"

Did they just dig into martial arts all day?

When he thought about it, it was not something he should say. To complain that there were no descendants when he had lived alone until he was over seventy...

"They say the martial arts of the So family are like that. You have to be forty to achieve a certain level of accomplishment... and besides, they say it's easy to fall into cultivation deviation."

Cultivation deviation? Hmm. As expected, it's the harm of the 'Great Soul Spirit Art'.

To master the martial arts of the So family, one has to learn the 'Heavenly Spirit Divine Art' at the end. This is a divine art that draws out spiritual power, and it is extremely tricky to learn, so unless one is a considerable genius, they are not even initiated. Because an ordinary person would go crazy while learning it.

"So they say the men of the So family were very careful when choosing a marriage partner to have a talented child. And so, naturally... they were eliminated."

Baekji inwardly nodded his head.

'The So family must have also been a descendant of the 'Heavenly Vein'. So they would have tried to take a woman of the 'Heavenly Vein' as a wife. In other cases, an ordinary child would be born... and then they would have died early from cultivation deviation while learning the 'Heavenly Spirit Divine Art'.'

Living as a 'Heavenly Vein' family was not all that good.

Oh Jeong-ri hesitated and then asked, "But... are you really the Young Lord's grandson?"

Baekji suddenly became sullen, and with tears in his eyes, he took out a small wooden monkey statue from his bosom.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Isn't it a monkey statue?"

"This is my grandfather's divine object."

Oh Jeong-ri looked at the monkey statue. It was old, but...

'Did the Young Lord use such a divine object?'

It was beyond what the guests of the So family could know. They had never even seen the Young Lord. Oh Jeong-ri made eye contact with the demonic person, the 'Silent Saber', and the palace-robed beauty in turn, but they all seemed not to know.

"Isn't 'hou' written at the bottom of the statue? They say my grandfather sometimes wrote the 'hou' of 'So-ya-hou' as the 'hou' for monkey."

It somehow sounded plausible. But it was not certain either. The guests of the So family felt as if their heads would explode.

"..."

Just as the subtle silence was about to lengthen, Baekji said with a serious face, "What is the situation of the Demonic Cult? No matter how much they are fighting over the position of Young Lord, to openly send assassins. It's a complete mess."

"In a word, it is a chaotic battle where it is not known who the enemy is. It is not just the Hyuk-ryeon family. It would be correct to say that all twelve guardian families are aiming for the position of Young Lord. The So family is now the target of all the families."

"Why is the So family being targeted? You said there are no more successors."

"Of course."

Oh Jeong-ri frowned.

"Isn't a wounded tiger the prey of a pack of wolves? Haven't they monopolized the production of the Cult Leader until now? So they must be thinking of cutting off the bud completely this time. In that process, all the guests have left, and only the four of us are left."

"Yes... you four... have loyalty. To remain when the So family is in a difficult situation."

The 'Silent Saber', who had been listening quietly, 'tuk', interrupted.

"I am not here out of loyalty, but because I have not received what I was supposed to receive."

"What you were supposed to receive?"

"The 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword'! I was supposed to receive the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword' if I acted as a guest for thirty years."

"Ah... so, you all had something you wanted."

Baekji nodded his head and then immediately tilted it.

"Huh? You were supposed to hand over the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword'? But you use a saber?"

The 'Silent Saber' glared at Baekji with suspicious eyes.

"The Northern Divine General! Don't you know that Ma Deng's 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber' originated from the So family's 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword'?"

He had heard it recently. Before he left for the Demonic Cult, when he had asked Tie Yantai about the characteristics of the So family's martial arts, he had heard some unexpected words.

―There is no need to think too hard. Just think of the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber'.

―The 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber'?

―The Northern Divine General, Ma Deng, was originally a person of the So family. He had been a vassal of the So family since his grandfather's time. Ma Deng had received the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber', which was a modification of the So family's 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Sword', and had developed it to a great extent, rising to the position of Northern Divine General.

―Oho? Then Ma Deng must have been my confidant.

―His personality was so bad that even you, Young Lord, did not deal with him well. Well, you would give him a job sometimes. He can't be compared to me.

The proud expression of Tie Yantai, who had spoken, flashed by.

Baekji roughly knew about the 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Saber'. He had personally fought with Cho-hye, and he had also seen Mado fight.

As his gaze met that of the 'Silent Saber', who was looking at him with a dumbfounded look, Baekji let out a dry cough.

"Ahem, ahem. The 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword'... I know. It's a bit much to call it a 'demonic sword'. If you're a guest of the So family, shouldn't you call it the 'Heaven-Shattering Divine Sword'?"

"Hmph! A 'divine sword'. That's a word that only the hypocrites of the Righteous Path use. The 'Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword' is much better. It sounds more powerful."

Huh? This brat is a martial arts fanatic. Seeing how he answered stiffly without any social skills, he was clearly a brat who lived only for martial arts.

Baekji's gaze turned to the demonic person.

"Demonic person, what are you sticking around to get?"

"The 'Soul Spirit Art'!"

"You have big dreams. Don't you know that the So family's 'Soul Spirit Art' is passed down to only one person among the direct descendants?"

"...I was supposed to receive the 'Soul Splitting Heart Art' derived from it."

"'Soul Splitting Heart Art'?"

The 'Soul Splitting Art' is a heart art that can divide one's consciousness into two, like the 'Two Forms Heart Art' of Wudang.

"To complete my martial arts... the 'Soul Splitting Heart Art' is absolutely necessary."

"Yes. What are your martial arts?"

There were not many martial arts that required the 'Soul Splitting Heart Art'. When Baekji asked out of curiosity, the demonic person shook his head.

"I cannot say that."

But his face was full of pride. It was a face that said, 'if I just complete that, you are all dead'.

"Looking at your current skills... it seems just so-so... tell me."

"Hmph..."

The demonic person snorted and turned his head. Although he tried to compose his expression, he could not hide the fact that his pride had been hurt.

He had prided himself on having few opponents outside the pass. But at Baekji's single blow, he had ended up rolling on the cold floor for the first time in his life. Even if he tried to forget, it would unconsciously come to mind, and his face would flush... and Baekji was digging into his wound and even sprinkling salt on it.

"I can help you... if you don't want to, then don't..."

The demonic person immediately turned his head, looked at Baekji, and answered, "The name of the martial arts has not been decided yet. I can only tell you that when it is mastered, it is an absolute divine art that can handle ten thousand weapons."

"Yes... a divine art that can handle ten thousand weapons?"

"That is so."

This brat is also crazy. Doesn't he know the principle of 'all things return to one'?

But seeing how he spoke, it didn't seem like that.

"It is often said that all martial arts can be pierced with one principle, right? If so, it is also possible to manifest tens of thousands of martial arts from one principle. If my martial arts are completed..."

"That's enough. I know what you mean, so stop."

He's a human who is obsessed with strange things.

Baekji, who had figured out what kind of person the demonic person was, became indifferent and cut him off. At that, the demonic person's hands trembled. He was being ignored right away while he was expounding on his divine art, which he had devoted his entire life to.

"Ugh... you don't understand what I mean. If my martial arts are completed, I will be able to break even the 'Heavenly Demon Divine Art'!"

"Alright... I'll tell you later when I have time. Research it well."

"Is that true?"

"Yes. A great divine art is coming out in the martial world... I have to contribute."

Baekji this time turned to the palace-robed beauty.

"Auntie, do you also want something?"

The palace-robed beauty said, "I was dispatched from the 'Yao-yao Sect'."

"'Yao-yao Sect'?"

It was the sect of Hongyeon and Menghua.

When Baekji looked at the palace-robed beauty again, it didn't seem like she had learned the 'youth-retaining art'. Moreover, there was no 'demonic energy' that could be felt from the disciples of the 'Yao-yao Sect'.

"Isn't that a lie? I know a little about the people from the 'Yao-yao Sect'... the atmosphere is different."

At that, Oh Jeong-ri, let out a dry cough and then interrupted.

"Of course. The young lady is the precious daughter of the renowned Seomun family of Zhejiang. She just happened to take refuge in the 'Yao-yao Sect' and came all the way here..."

A young lady?

Baekji looked back and forth between Oh Jeong-ri and the palace-robed beauty. To call a woman who had reached middle age a young lady. Was he blind?

"What is the relationship between the two of you?"

(End of Chapter)