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Paeeeek-
Above the high mountaintops, an eagle’s cry echoed.
A gigantic eagle could be seen soaring through the sky. Within this eagle’s eyes, the world was magnificently spread below.
Sharp and steep peaks, which seemed to have been carved by a giant sword, stretched endlessly towards the skies. Some of these peaks were piled with unmelted snow.
The eagle cried out as it circled this magnificent view like a king.
Paeeeek!
Hearing the cry, all the animals that lived in the area scrambled to hide.
However, there was one being who did not hide.
A man, about six feet tall.
It was a precarious position, as he was likely to fall down the cliff if he made a single mistake, but the man seemed to not care for his safety at all.
That was to be expected.
Because the man being described was the only Divine Being alive, candidate for the title of ‘strongest person in the world’ at the moment.
The leader of the Demonic Cult.
‘Divine Heavenly Demon’ Hyuk Woon-seong.
That was the identity of the man.
It had been a few years since the war against Orthodox Murim and the Cult of the Inverted Sky had ended.
Was it because of the winds of time? The bloody smell that once covered the world seemed to have been washed away, like it had never existed.
Nevertheless, Woon-seong would sometimes stand here and look down on the entirety of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon and think about those times.
No, not on the war. He would look back on his own life.
Because the life that he had gained through the artifact of the Spear Sky had been the war against the Cult of the Inverted Sky itself.
What would have happened if I hadn’t been reincarnated…?
Perhaps the world might have fallen into the hands of the Inverted Sky.
But that didn’t matter.
For Woon-seong, what was important was not the Cult of the Inverted Sky ruling the world, but his master’s revenge.
If he hadn’t reincarnated, he wouldn’t have been able to get revenge for his master.
And he would not have met his second master, the Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon.
Of course, there is no such thing as Fate in the world, but…
“The Heaven’s net casts wide. Though its meshes are coarse, nothing slips through.”
If put that way, it must be Heaven’s Will that Woon-seong be given a second chance.
Now that he had reached the Divine Realm, it seemed that he could see the meaning of the Will of Heaven with his own eyes, even if it was still vague.
Isn’t it so? Master, Leader?
Woon-seong smiled, raising his head to look up at the sky.
Two clouds floating in the clear sky seemed like a teacher’s smile.
Shriek–
The eagle cried out again.
Unlike the previous cries, which seemed to prove itself as king, this cry felt like a signal or an announcement.
And that it was.
Woon-seong raised an arm once he heard the call. As if waiting just for that, the eagle dove straight for his arm.
Fwoosh.
The eagle, falling at terrifying speed, flapped its large wings right before landing on Woon-seong’s arm, settling down softly.
The eagle’s eyes turned blue.
Soon after, the eagle’s beak opened and noise came out.
Surprisingly, it was a human’s voice.
— My lord.
Although it lacked energy, it was a dignified voice.
It was the voice of Lee Shin-jung, the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon.
— It has started.
At that, Woon-seong nodded lightly. “I’ll be down soon.”
Soon, the blue light in the eagle’s eyes disappeared, and Woon-seong lightly stabbed the ground with the spear he had been carrying on his back.
Puk.
The snow, which had been calm a moment before, exploded. Something which had been buried deep inside flew into the air.
It was a tree the height of a small child. The snow had piled up so high that it had buried the tree completely.
Hanging from the branches were white fruits the size of a small child’s fist.
Iced Snowfruit.
That was the name of the fruit, which was spreading such chilling energy that even just holding it in your palms would freeze your hand.
It was not long after the war with the Inverted Sky that Woon-seong discovered this Iced Snowfruit here.
The reason why he had left without harvesting them was primarily because the fruits had not ripened until now.
And secondly, because there was nowhere to use it.
The Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, which had become the mainstay of the techniques used by Woon-seong, was a martial art that handled fire and polar yang energy. The Iced Snowfruit, which was filled with icy yin energy, was useless to him.
But now, there was somewhere else to use it.
All the fruits have ripened.
Thus, Woon-seong reached out and accurately grabbed the Iced Snowfruits from the tree, which had been flung into the air.
A strong chill seeped through his palms, but it was not enough to harm the Heavenly Demon.
Chiik.
A cloud of mist rose from the Iced Snowfruit when it came in contact with Woon-seong’s hand, and there was a sinking and sizzling sound.
Zureuk-
It was then that something jumped out of the snow.
It was a snake with pure white and translucent scales, like carved gems — it was the spirit creature which protected the elixir.
The snake sprang towards Woon-seong once it realized its possession had been lost.
Woon-seong swung his spear.
Seukeukeuk-
Cold blood splattered as the snake’s body was carved into several pieces.
Hmm.
Even though the snake suddenly popped out, Woon-seong looked calm, as if it was not surprising at all.
He looked down at the icy fruits in his hands.
I don’t know exactly what Heaven wanted from me, but…
As he thought to himself, he turned away from the top of the high mountain.
For now, I should be faithful to my present life.
Just as he had always been.
***
When Woon-seong reached the bottom of the mountain, the situation was chaotic.
“Hurry up. Get some hot water!”
“Clean cloth, more clean cloth!”
Female members of the Demonic Cult, who all smelled strongly of medicine, rushed about.
Surprisingly, despite their hurried movements, a path naturally opened for Woon-seong as he passed.
Of course, Woon-seong’s pace as he slipped between was also different from usual. He didn’t use the Art of Lightness, but he seemed quite urgent.
In the myths and legends, there would be many people who reached the Divine Realm.
And thus, it would be natural to wonder why Woon-seong, someone similar to those myths, was in such a hurry.
It was common to rise above worldly affairs by letting go of the five desires and regrets in the world, but Woon-seong was not like that. His desire to get revenge on the enemies of his two masters, their regrets they could not let go of, and the hours of accumulated obsession. It was because he had brought them all together that he reached the Divine Realm.
Even if it was divinity, Woon-seong was considered a demonic god.
For this reason, his attachments to the world remained. So even if he had reached the height of martial arts, he was in a rush.
And finally.
Bump.
Woon-seong’s footsteps stopped and the door opened.
“Waaaaaaah!”
The sound of crying reached Woon-seong’s ears.
Like time had suddenly stopped, Woon-seong’s feet halted. Both of his eyes trembled slightly, fixed in one place.
There…
A very small and fragile life was crying in the midwife’s arms.
Woon-seong could see them breathing their first breaths in the world, eyes not yet able to open and swaddled in a white cloth.
“…You’ve arrived?”
Ah-young looked tired as she lay on the bed, but her voice was cheerful as usual. As she had gone through a great ordeal, her whole body was covered in sweat.
“It’s a girl.”
The nanny smiled brightly and handed the baby she was holding over to Ah-young, who held the baby close. She said, “Don’t stay so far, come and see.”
“Hmmm…”
Woon-seong nodded with an awkward expression and walked towards the baby and Ah-young.
As he walked closer, the baby’s appearance became clearer. The figure of his daughter quietly in her mother’s arms, as if she had never cried at all.
He said, “She has your jawline and forehead.”
It was a newborn, very young. As she grew older, her face would change.
Nevertheless, in the eyes of a master like Woon-seong, there would be lines. Lines like basic outlines that would not change, even as a person grew older.
“Is that so?”
Even though he didn’t say who the baby resembled more, Ah-young smiled and nodded as if she understood Woon-seong’s words.
She responded, “Her eyes and nose look like yours.”
Just as lines could be seen in Woon-seong’s eyes, Ah-young could trace them too.
She was not as strong as Woon-seong, but she was still amongst the top 10 strongest within the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
“It would be nice if they weren’t so sharp…”
At Woon-seong’s words, Ah-young reached out and lightly traced Woon-seong’s eyes. “I disagree. Rather, I don’t know, it might be attractive.”
After that, the baby was handed over to Woon-seong.
“Hold her.”
As soon as he held her in his arms, a small warmth blossomed in his chest.
My child…
Even though he had lived for more than 40 years in his past and present lives combined, he had no family.
He had taken his masters as kin, but they were not true parent and child.
Of course, this did not mean that his masters lacked the heart.
However, having a wife and daughter came as a new challenge for Woon-seong.
Woon-seong, who had been gazing at his child for a while, gently placed the baby on the bed as if he had remembered something.
He took out the Iced Snowfruit from his pockets.
The Iced Snowfruit, which had been completely sealed by Woon-seong’s energy, was revealed.
Woon-seong, holding it in one hand, operated the Divine Flame with the other.
Woah.
His hands began to be filled with yin and yang.
“That…”
Recognizing the energy in Woon-seong’s hands, Ah-young’s eyes lit up.
Woon-seong nodded. “I am thinking of unblocking the veins in her whole body and letting the body undergo a metamorphosis.”
Of course, the energy swirling in Woon-seong’s hands was quite dangerous. It would be difficult for a newborn’s body to accept.
Nevertheless.
“I trust you.”
Ah-young believed in Woon-seong.
There was no reason not to.
Because it was impossible for a master like Woon-seong to fail to control his energy.
As if to prove that, Woon-seong’s hands drew a circle.
He combined the two powers into one by creating the supreme ultimate (Taiji). The extreme yang of a martial artist who had reached Divinity and the extreme yin created by nature came together to form the purest energy in the world.
The energy which could be considered Nature itself was intertwined like a thread around Woon-seong’s hands.
And Woon-seong reached out his hand. Carefully, he released the energy of the thread little by little and slowly pushed it into the baby’s body.
The sight of Woon-seong, who carefully and prudently carried out his task…
Truly, a father.
He was simply himself.
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