The Regressed Young Master’s Guide to Living on Easy Mode

Chapter 61 : The Empty Lord (5)

If you raise a puppy and it turns out to be a bear, it's not easy to abandon it even if you say, 'Huh? This wasn't a puppy?'

Because you can't ignore the affection you've developed while raising it.

The reason I'm suddenly thinking about this is because I'm in a similar, though not identical, situation right now.

I thought it was a puppy and that I could run away at any time. To be honest, the moment I first saw it, I knew it wasn't a puppy, but at least a bear. Still, I thought I could run away.

"There's a formation here. Just follow where I step."

"Alright."

That was just my illusion. The opponent was not a bear, but a monster who had single-handedly cut down hundreds of Heavenly Demon Cult warriors.

And I could now remember who the Suicide Squad they were talking about was.

'Those fanatics.'

The madmen who had first carried out a suicide attack on me.

So they were the ones who had started this trend.

Should I run away now?

I try to keep a slight distance. Then the Rakshasa Divine Maiden, who was running ahead, slows down and strangely shows me consideration.

'Is she the type who is kind to her own side?'

That demonic woman? I can't get used to it.

"Let's rest here for a bit."

Then she stops completely and sits down on the floor.

"Alright."

This situation had been repeating itself every time I tried to run away. And the way she kept glancing at me once in a while was quite burdensome.

Still, one thing that was reassuring was that the Rakshasa Divine Maiden was not a member of the third force.

In the memories of my past life, she was a person who had died while moving solely for the Orthodox Faction.

At this point, where I am aware of the third force, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden was nothing more than a pawn that was being used and discarded by them.

Perhaps the reason was that she was difficult to handle.

A person full of conviction does not waver easily. They don't listen to anyone else's words. They would not have moved according to their tastes.

Then what should be done?

They must be killed. They must be eliminated. And they must be replaced with someone who suits their tastes.

The real intention behind the Gansu Province battle.

What if the third force had intended this Gansu Province battle?

If the people who had destroyed the Diancang Sect and had set up this board were them?

What did they commit this act to gain?

Simply to worsen the relationship between the Orthodox Faction and the Heavenly Demon Cult?

If it's for that, there are many other ways.

Why did no one come to help the Rakshasa Divine Maiden at that time, even though she was in the position of the Heavenly Lord?

When she was an enemy, I didn't think much of it, but now that I'm on her side, this is a bit strange.

And very much so.

It felt strongly as if someone had deliberately let her die.

The short rest was over.

The Rakshasa Divine Maiden gets up. I also get up.

'For now, there are too many things I don't know in this situation. Let's start by gathering information.'

"By the way, what exactly is the Suicide Squad?"

"It refers to the ten talents selected from each faction of the Orthodox Faction. The original composition was mostly the previous generation, but this time, as I became the Heavenly Lord, I completely changed it."

"Are you the highest person there?"

"The Suicide Squad is all equal. I just represent them."

"I see."

Since she is the disciple of the Heavenly Emperor, the symbolism alone would be sufficient, even if we only look at the justification.

'From what I see, she seems to have already completed her martial arts.'

"Is that all for the questions?"

"Let's just say 'for now'."

"By the way, is your body okay now?"

"..."

I was momentarily flustered by the completely unexpected question.

Because she spoke as if she knew what my condition was.

Currently, I had completely hidden the disconnection of the internal energy in my body with the Ice Soul Divine Art.

"I'm fine."

"I see. I asked because you've been lagging behind since a while ago."

At those words, I let out a sigh of relief.

'Phew.'

"I just couldn't bring myself to leave because of my master's thoughts. Now that it's all resolved, let's go quickly."

"Alright."

And so, I followed behind her. This time, she didn't slow down, and to be honest, it was a little tough.

"Here it is."

I answered, trying my best to hide my rough breathing.

"Oh-ho. I'm surprised there was a place like this."

The place we entered after breaking through numerous formations was a single residence that had been carved out of nature as it was.

And there, eight people were sitting freely.

One person is visible on the cliff to the left.

'Strong. A momentum that feels like it will cut you at any moment. A swordsman. The realm is the Transformation Realm.'

One person dozing on a flat stone on the right.

'At a glance, it seems he hasn't learned martial arts. But there are no openings. His realm is ambiguous. But it seems he has at least surpassed the Transcendent Peak.'

The other six were roughly similar to the first two.

Among them, the realms of the first person and the second person seemed to be the highest. Of course, this was an evaluation that excluded the Rakshasa Divine Maiden.

And there was a common point among those here, and that was that they were all young. And among them, there was also an unexpected person.

"Y-y-you are!"

I was momentarily flustered, but due to the aftereffects of learning the Ice Soul Divine Art, there was no change in my expression.

'To think that the Little Divine Monk would be here!'

Come to think of it, if it were him, it was understandable.

The ten talents selected from the Orthodox Faction.

If I were to choose the most suitable person for this, it would be the Little Divine Monk over there.

However, the reason I had completely forgotten about his existence was because in my past life, he was a person who had already died around this time.

My current appearance has changed.

He might mistake me for him, but it's a stage where there is no certainty yet.

So I quickly made the first move.

"Heavenly Demon, you son of a bitch."

"Heavenly Demon, you fucking bastard."

"Heavenly Demon, you motherfucker."

A three-stage combo of cursing the Heavenly Demon!

"Amitabha. Did I see wrong?"

At the Little Divine Monk's words, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

However, at my sudden three-stage combo of cursing the Heavenly Demon, the eight who had been concentrating on their own affairs all focused their attention on me at once.

I shrugged my shoulders at them.

"Because ideological verification is essential."

Just then.

"Hah! I was expecting someone to be brought, but he looks pale and sick. No. Did you bring a gigolo?"

The one who had belittled me out of the blue had long hair, a sword at his side, and was wearing a blue martial arts uniform. In the center of the martial arts uniform, the character for blue, 'cheong', was written.

As soon as I saw the character 'cheong', I could immediately recall who that person was.

'The unprecedented swordsman born of the Qingcheng Sect, the Qing Lord, Dokgo Cheong.'

It is knowledge based on the memories of my past life.

His realm is almost at the end of the Transcendent Peak.

His age seemed to be past the middle of his twenties. Looking at his age and talent, he was a talent who could easily reach the Transformation Realm.

However, in his past life, he had died without being able to step into the Transformation Realm.

'He was beheaded by the Sword Demoness.'

I was with her at that time, what did he say?

'Your physiognomy is just right! You're fated to eat your mother, father, brothers, and sisters and survive alone tenaciously!'

He had said that. Hmm... he deserved to die. Even if he was an enemy, insulting her parents and the deceased is a bit much.

By the way, his personality was dirty from the old days.

On the other hand, the others were quietly watching this situation with interest.

Just then, one of them stepped forward.

"Amitabha. It is not polite to say such things to a donor who has just arrived."

"The bald one, stay out of it!"

The Little Divine Monk chants the name of Buddha and heads to a corner. Although he tries to hide it, his expression is quite shocked.

Tsk tsk. He should have just stayed still, why did he have to step forward... I don't know much about the Little Divine Monk, but at this moment, I felt a sense of pity.

"What are you doing now?"

This time, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden, who was next to me, stepped forward.

"Just because I call you the Heavenly Lord, do you think you're really the Heavenly Lord?"

The Qing Lord was also unreserved in his actions towards the Rakshasa Divine Maiden.

You just die.

Can't you feel the difference in power?

Ah! Is it because he hasn't crossed the wall yet, so he can't feel it? Still, he seems to be at least at the Transcendent Peak, so shouldn't he be able to tell at this point?

He hasn't stepped into the Transformation Realm, but he has almost crossed the wall...

"I'll let the rudeness pass once. But if you commit any more rudeness, there will be no more forgiveness. Qing Lord."

"See! He's hiding behind a girl and can't even say a word himself."

"I told you not to go any further!"

It's strange. I don't know why, but just like before, and this time too, I felt like the Rakshasa Divine Maiden was showing me consideration.

"Enough. I'll take care of it."

I pushed the Rakshasa Divine Maiden and stepped forward.

The Rakshasa Divine Maiden looks at me with a surprised expression.

Her eyes were genuinely worried about me.

It seemed certain that she was trying to protect me. Though I couldn't know the exact reason.

Could it be that she has a crush on me?

"The ideological verification is over, so is the skill verification left now?"

I said, looking around the room.

There is a traditional event called a hazing ceremony in a place like this.

It was also something I had done countless times as the Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Cult in my past life. There were so many old-timers who expressed their dissatisfaction when a young kid was called the Young Lord.

So the current atmosphere was very familiar to me.

Perhaps the Qing Lord, Dokgo Cheong, had also deliberately picked a fight to find out my skills. Or perhaps they had all planned it among themselves just before I arrived.

They are more cunning than the Heavenly Demon Cult.

I pointed at one of the familiar faces among them and said.

"Baldy, come out. I choose you."

"A-a-amitabha."

The Little Divine Monk seemed very flustered, as if he hadn't known he would be pointed out suddenly. But what can I do? You look the most manageable among them. But that doesn't mean that the Little Divine Monk's martial prowess is the lowest among them. The Little Divine Monk had also reached the end of the Transcendent Peak while I hadn't seen him.

The reason I pointed out the Little Divine Monk was because, unlike the others, I knew his martial arts well.

Just then, an unexpected telepathic message was heard.

-Donor. I don't think it's right to call me baldy on our first meeting.

-Ah! Sorry. I thought everyone here called you that.

-Tsk... only that bastard calls me that.

As expected, that guy was the bad guy.

-Sorry. I'll call you the Little Divine Monk from now on.

-Amitabha.

As the Little Divine Monk was about to get up with a chant of Buddha's name that only I could hear, the Qing Lord stepped forward again.

"I'll do it."

The Qing Lord's martial prowess was almost at the same level as the Little Divine Monk.

"Why? Are you afraid to fight me?"

It's a variable, but it's not an unfavorable situation.

I readily accepted the Qing Lord's proposal.

"Alright. I choose you, Qing-head."

"Qing-head?"

"Didn't everyone here call each other by their heads? Or not."

-Amitabha. Donor, I like you!

"I was originally just going to scare you. You, you're asking for death."

I just gave him a taste of his own medicine for what the Little Divine Monk had been suffering. Still, he's a kid I saved with great difficulty, so it hurts a little to see him get beaten up somewhere.

Look at that proud expression!

I feel at ease.

"Are you teasing me and laughing at me?"

"Why is calling you Qing-head because of your blue hair teasing?"

Swoosh!

The Qing Lord drew his sword out of the blue. It was obvious at a glance that it was a famous sword.

"It's the Qingyun Sword. It's a treasure of the Qingcheng Sect."

As expected... but I wasn't envious.

Swoosh.

I also drew my sword.

"That's!"

"That is!"

"No!"

It seemed that some of them recognized my sword.

I returned what the Qing Lord had done to me just now.

"It's the Ice Soul Sword. It's made of ten-thousand-year-old cold iron. It's a memento of my master."

I have the Sword Emperor's sword!

"How do you have the Sword Emperor's sword?"

"The Sword Emperor is my master, and I am his disciple, so of course I have it."

"How dare someone like you be the Sword Emperor's disciple? Can you say that what you just said has not a single lie in it!"

"There's no reason to lie."

I don't know why they don't believe people's words.

And since I received martial arts instruction, it's right to have a master-disciple relationship.

"I will confirm with my own two eyes whether you are truly his disciple!"

The Qing Lord immediately scattered his sword.

It was a super-strong move from the beginning.

The body of the sword looks as if it is stained with red.

The temperature in the cave rose in an instant.

It was the representative martial art of the Qingcheng Sect, the Qingyun Red Glow Sword.

The Qingyun Red Glow Sword is a sword art that is divided into a pre-technique based on yin energy and a post-technique based on yang energy.

What the Qing Lord is performing now is a technique of the post-technique.

An attack that maximizes the speed and destructive power of the sword by exploding the yang energy.

The name of the technique, which was given because it looked as if the red moon in the sky was being cut, was the Red Moon Killing Sword.

A strong qi containing super-high temperature yang energy was falling exactly towards the top of my head.

I swung my sword upwards.

Slice!

I cut the grain that formed the strong qi.

I felt my insides churn for a moment, but the yin energy of the Ice Soul Divine Art immediately suppressed the rampant internal energy.

"Is this all for your petty tricks!"

Since I had cut the grain, it should have scattered. But the opponent was also proving that he was not just one of the ten selected from the Orthodox Faction for nothing.

The countermeasure to the sword strike that cuts the grain.

To be honest, I didn't think there would be one, but there was.

The strong qi that was about to scatter gathers again.

The grain and the grain intertwine and twist.

If this happens, even if I cut one grain, the other grains will hold on, so my sword strike that cuts the grain will be of no use.

A lump of twisted strong qi falls on me.

"Die!"

To cut that, I had to cut all the grains entangled in that strong qi.

It might have been possible before my body was injured, but in my current state, it was impossible.

If it were the me before I had inherited my master's martial arts, I might have really died in this place.

The temperature that had been rising around me gradually cools down.

Slice.

I cut the strong qi again.

"You idiot! That doesn't work anymore!"

Sizzle.

Frost gently settles on the strong qi in the lowered temperature. Snowflakes bloom on the frost.

"Ice Sever."

The words used to call the Sword Emperor's sword technique in the past.

A sword art that freezes internal energy.

Crack.

At the same time as my words, the strong qi begins to freeze.

The ice rides the strong qi and goes towards its owner. If he were to hold the sword like this, his whole body would freeze along with the strong qi.

Clang!

The Qing Lord did something a swordsman should never do. He let go of the sword.

In return, he was able to escape from the ice of the qi, but his sword was trapped in the ice.

Crack.

The sword, frozen along with the strong qi, fell to the ground.

I slowly raised my sword, aimed it at the Qing Lord's neck, and said.

"Next."

My stomach feels bloated.

It was certain that I had suffered an internal injury.

It was something I had only done in theory while training alone every day, but when I used it in a real battle, the backlash was stronger than I had thought.

In the process of cutting the grain and putting yin energy into it, the yin energy had almost bounced back out.

'The cohesion is stronger than I thought.'

Perhaps the reason was that he had twisted the strong qi just now. If it had bounced back, the ice block would have been me, not this sword, by now.

Swoosh.

I can see someone about to get up.

Just then, the Little Divine Monk opened his mouth.

"Amitabha. I think this donor has had enough, what do the others think?"

He puts his butt back on the stone floor.

I'm saved.

This time, the Rakshasa Divine Maiden stepped forward and opened her mouth.

"It seems we've confirmed what we needed to confirm, so let's take a short break and then start the meeting. The reason I have summoned you all today is to introduce the new Empty Lord, but also to discuss the Gansu Province battle."

-Follow me back for a moment.

The Rakshasa Divine Maiden sent a telepathic message.

I'm dead.

(End of Chapter)