Absolute Regression

< Chapter 22: Just Teach Me Secretly >

Once I left the Heavenly Demon Library, I headed straight for the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

“I’m back.”

My father, who was quietly watching me, motioned me to come closer.

“Come closer.”

I took five steps forward.

“A bit more.”

This time, I took three steps.

“More.”

My father was examining me. He was probably curious about which martial arts I had learned, but since I hadn’t used the Wind God’s Four Steps, there was nothing he could discern from my movements.

“What martial art did you learn at the Heavenly Demon Library?”

“It’s a secret.”

As if he had expected this response, my father didn’t hesitate to release his demonic energy.

“I won’t ask a second time.”

The demonic energy that came flying at me was on a completely different level from what the Blade Ghosts had sent. It wasn’t just prickly and painful; it felt like I was being dragged into a dark abyss. My body grew colder, and the flow of my inner energy slowed down.

Since I had no real intention of hiding it from my father, I answered honestly.

“I learned a footwork technique.”

“Which footwork technique?”

“The Wind God’s Four Steps.”

My father silenced himself from sheer astonishment.

Soon, the demonic energy that had been withdrawn for a moment engulfed me again.

“Stop with that nonsense.”

“It’s true.”

Demonic energy pulled me deeper into the abyss. It surged up to my neck, and even as it enveloped my face, I kept my eyes fixed on my father, hiding nothing.

I sank endlessly into the abyss like a swamp. I couldn’t breathe. Though I thought he wouldn’t really kill me, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the terror of suffocation.

At that moment.

I felt like something enormous was staring at me from within the darkness.

‘!’

The moment I made eye contact with it, the oppressive force disappeared, and I found myself standing at the edge of the Path of Blood in the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

My father, who had retracted his demonic energy, commanded me.

“Show me the martial art you claim to have learned.”

He still didn’t believe it was the Wind God’s Four Steps.

“What will you give me in return?”

My father looked at me incredulously. No one had ever set conditions or demanded anything from him in his life.

“I’ll let you live.”

I smiled faintly, stepped back, and stood in the middle of the hall.

Then, I slowly demonstrated the Wind God’s Four Steps.

As soon as I began the Dark Shadow Step, my father jumped to his feet. He recognized the difference from other martial arts from the very first step.

And so, I completed the entire sequence of the Wind God’s Four Steps.

My father, who rarely showed his emotions, couldn’t hide his shock this time. Although it was the first time he had seen the Wind God’s Four Steps, as it was a lost martial art, he immediately recognized its greatness.

“Where did you learn the Wind God’s Four Steps?”

Now, he believed that this technique was indeed the Wind God’s Four Steps.

“I learned it at the Heavenly Demon Library.”

Whoosh.

In an instant, my father crossed the space between us and tightly grabbed my neck, coldly demanding,

“You dare lie to me?”

He seemed ready to break my neck at any moment. This was the first time my father had laid a hand on me, and the emotion behind it was rage.

But I wasn’t angry. My father was sincere about martial arts. That’s why he was in that position and so strong. I understood him.

“The Wind God’s Four Steps was not in the Heavenly Demon Library.”

A cold energy, as if it could freeze my entire body, transmitted through his fingertips. It was a different feeling from being submerged in the abyss earlier.

“I definitely learned it there.”

“Lies!”

“Can you be sure you’ve seen every single book in that vast collection? It wasn’t placed in the section for footwork techniques but in another section.”

“So you knew that the Wind God’s Four Steps was there?”

“I didn’t know.”

“Lies!”

“I truly didn’t know. I discovered it by accident while trying to learn a different technique.”

I stuck to this part. There was no other way to explain it. Of course, my father wouldn’t believe me if I told him I remembered the future.

He released my neck and asked again.

“Where was it?”

“It was being used as a support under a shelf.”

“How did you find it?”

“I noticed it was uneven and tried to straighten it out.”

My father hesitated, considering whether to call a subordinate to retrieve it, then stopped.

“You must have already destroyed the crucial parts of the manual.”

“How did you know?”

“Because I would have done the same.”

My father, who had been glaring at me, quickly returned to his Celestial Zenith’s Throne as fast as he had approached me.

“Summon the scribe.”

As expected! This is my father.

My goal was not to overthrow my father and take the Heavenly Demon seat. Nor did I plan to wait for Hwa Moogi under the same circumstances as before.

While killing Hwa Moogi was important, the purpose of my regression was to save my father and the members of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Revenge would not be the sole focus of this regression. Revenge was the reason for seeking my regression, but the purpose was also to live this life happily.

After killing Hwa Moogi, I planned to wander the world and live happily until my father passed his position down to me, without being tied to the cult.

From then on, it would be my real life. I would live a life without obstacles in this young body. The title of my autobiography would be “Life is Like a Sword Without Limits.”

Therefore, teaching my father the footwork posed no problem.

Of course, it wouldn’t be for free.

“I refuse.”

To save my father the trouble of flying back to me in anger, I quickly continued,

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

“I recall the secret techniques I taught you in the hunting grounds were free.”

“That was the price of the drinks you had in the hunting grounds.”

My shameless response left my father looking dumbfounded.

“How have you endured all this time? Such a shameless brat.”

“You must grow up to rebel. Now I’m taller than you. I endured with gritted teeth until I grew this big.”

I didn’t back down in a single exchange against my father.

Father, you can’t defeat me. You have no idea how much I’ve suffered. I’ve survived several life-and-death situations.

“Do you have something you want?”

“Since I am giving you martial arts techniques, it would be fair to receive martial arts techniques in return. Ideally, I’d like to learn the Nine Calamities Demon Art, but that seems difficult, so I’d settle for the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.”

A moment of silence passed.

The Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique was literally a body protection technique, a unique martial art taught only to the Heavenly Demon.

“Impossible!”

“This is the Wind God’s Four Steps. Strictly speaking, I’m getting the short end of the stick.”

“The Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique can only be learned by the Heavenly Demon and his successors.”

“You can teach me secretly. Besides, the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique is a martial art that activates without being noticed, so no one will ever know.”

It was a martial art that would never be revealed to outsiders.

I could feel my father’s hesitation. If he got serious and pressured me, I would eventually have to tell him. But he didn’t do that. He was still my father in the end.

In any case, it was a martial art I absolutely had to obtain. Learning the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique was like having an extra life.

“Think it over and let me know.”

I bowed respectfully and was about to turn away when my father’s voice called out.

“Give me the Wind God’s Four Steps first.”

To my surprise, my father had decided to teach me the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.

Was he really going to teach me the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique?

I wondered if perhaps my father wanted me to become his successor. Or maybe he didn’t care, thinking I would die facing the Eight Demon Supremes anyway.

“Yes.”

“Why are you so readily accepting? I might take the Wind God’s Four Steps and not teach you anything in return.”

“Because you’re not someone who would do something so embarrassing in front of your son.”

A smirk played at the corners of my father’s mouth. Using the term ’embarrassing’ was my strongest move. How could my father not see through me?

‘I’m sorry, Father. But I can’t just hand over the Wind God’s Four Steps.’

Fortunately, my father’s reaction wasn’t bad. He valued taking something in return more than just being foolishly offered martial arts techniques.

“Very well. Tell me the secrets of the techniques.”

“Yes.”

I explained the principles of the Wind God’s Four Steps to my father.

He quietly closed his eyes and internalized the principles.

Three hours passed, and my father began to execute the Wind God’s Four Steps.

I watched without blinking.

My father’s execution of the Wind God’s Four Steps was the same as mine, and yet it still showed differences.

It was as if he was saying,

“This is how I interpret this martial art.”

I imprinted every single movement of my father’s execution in my mind. Not to mimic it exactly, but to understand how it differed from mine and why. The subtle differences and how one interprets them determine the level of one’s martial arts.

After completing the form, my father fell into quiet contemplation.

I, too, delved into deep meditation, comparing the Wind God’s Four Steps my father executed with my own.

I must learn.

My father’s approach to martial arts. The way the best thinks and interprets martial arts.

Eventually, my father emerged from his meditation.

“It truly is an excellent martial art.”

For my father to call something an excellent martial art was the highest of praises.

“You can’t swallow it because of your conscience, can you?”

My father scoffed, but this time, satisfaction was evident.

Now, I have introduced the biggest change since my regression.

Could Hwa Moogi defeat my father who had also mastered the Wind God’s Four Steps?

Of course, I intended to defeat Hwa Moogi myself, but teaching my father the Wind God’s Four Steps was a precaution.

My father kept his promise.

“I will now pass on the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique. I will speak it only once, so memorize it well.”

Before listening to the principles, I sat down cross-legged.

My father would only say it once, so I had to memorize it not just with my mind but by directly applying the principles with my body. This was something no one but a master of my level should attempt.

He began to impart the principles of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.

“Gently move your internal energy from Mingmen to Shenyu, Zhishi, and Weiyu. At this stage, the qi should be as light as snow settling on a blade of grass. Speed is crucial from Biyu to Ganyu and to Gegyu. Increase the speed as if walking, then running, then lightly soaring. Upon reaching Shenzhu, Fengmen, and Guyuan, unleash it powerfully like a waterfall cascading down…”

From the start, the principles were extremely difficult. The difficulty was truly supreme. While moving the true energy according to the principles, my heart pounded heavily. Knowing how difficult these principles were, I almost resented my father for not stopping me from directly applying them.

Naturally, several crises arose. I managed to get through the minor ones, but a major crisis struck near the end.

In an instant, my true energy reversed its flow, rampaging through my blood vessels as if they were about to burst. My tensed vessels seemed ready to explode at any moment. If I hadn’t strengthened my blood vessels previously with the Heavenly Meridian Strengthening Technique, I would have surely suffered severe internal injuries.

‘Learning the Heavenly Meridian Strengthening Technique was a preparation for today. Therefore, I won’t die today!’

Standing on the edge of a cliff where falling would lead to inner demons, injuries, or death, I became a paragon of positivity and fought back.

And I believed.

I believed that I wasn’t destined to die while learning martial arts from my father.

Was it my faith that resonated?

The raging true energy subsided. My internal power flowed along its proper channels, and having overcome the crisis, I could complete the final principles of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique.

“Phew.”

With a long breath, I circulated my internal energy through my body and slowly opened my eyes.

My father stood by the large window of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, looking outside.

Did he know that I had just passed through such a great crisis?

Would he have helped if I had succumbed to inner demons?

Until I heard the words “From now on, you are the next Heavenly Demon” from my father’s lips, I could be sure of nothing.

Whether he knew my feelings or not, my father spoke of the greatness of the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique while gazing out the window.

“When life is at stake, the Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique activates on its own. If you master it fully, death cannot touch you.”

At that moment, a question arose in my mind.

‘Then why did you die, Father?’

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