Childhood Friend of the Zenith

༺ Demonic Arts (2) ༻

Demonic Arts.

A power bestowed by the Heavenly Demon along with Demonic Qi and considered a blessing for a demonic human.

It was also the fastest way to step into a whole new world; a power that breaks through the limits, going beyond realms.

Demonic Qi enhances one’s body and their martial art, similar to the Blood Qi, however, depending on the user’s level, they could be consumed by the power and end up insane.

I’ve seen many people becoming monsters after being consumed by Demonic Qi.

But Demonic Arts was a bit different.

Once received, it became a whole new power that could even evolve if mixed with the user’s own strength.

As I said earlier for my Demonic Absorption, it was a whole new power that I got from the Heavenly Demon.

The ability to absorb Demonic Qi from Demonic Stones.

Thanks to that, I was able to manage my extreme Qi consumption when using Fire Arts, and at the same time, the Demonic Qi enhanced my martial arts, making my Fire Arts even more potent.

The end result was a Black Flame mixed with Demonic Qi.

Thanks to that, I had to live with a dogshit title for what felt like an eternity, though…

‘If I ever find the fucker who came up with that title, I’m seriously gonna kill him.’

Anyway, Demonic Arts compensated for the flaws and problems a martial artist had, allowing them to reach their desires and goals faster.

That was the power given by the Heavenly Demon.

It was a power that let one progress faster than anyone else, so how could a martial artist striving for a higher level, not be charmed by such a power?

The reason why many people ended up becoming a Demonic Human was, not only because of the Heavenly Demon’s overpowering strength, but also because many couldn’t overcome their walls.

They yearned for power, and couldn’t resist the temptation.

And I, who knew the outcome of that process couldn’t possibly be unaware of the power and Qi that the Palace Lord used.

‘Demonic Arts.’

It was definitely the Demonic Arts.

A nasty energy that made it harder for me to breathe.

The black fog that emanated from the Palace Lord, was definitely composed of Demonic Qi.

When I had come across the martial artists of the Black Palace, I felt that they possessed Demonic Qi. Although it felt nastier than the kind I knew, something about them felt lacking for me to call them Demonic Humans.

They were in a state where Demonic Qi hadn’t fully integrated with their bodies.

However, the Palace Lord was different.

‘That bastard is an actual Demonic Human.’

The Palace Lord was a true Demonic Human.

Not only did he use more Demonic Qi than normal Qi when he used his martial arts, but the only ones capable of using such dense Demonic Qi were Demonic Humans.

‘I heard that the martial arts of the Palace Lord seemed similar to black fog, but…’

All I had was other people’s testimonies.

This was the first time I was seeing it with my own eyes.

‘I’m certain.’

There was no way I would make a mistake when it came to Demonic Qi.

That bastard was definitely a Demonic Human.

The Palace Lord already being a Demonic Human, meant that the Black Palace was somehow related to the Demonic Cult, or even the Heavenly Demon somehow.

‘…Which means that the Heavenly Demon is somewhere in the world already.’

I was already half expecting this.

The first appearance of the Heavenly Demon may have been from the Demonic Realm, also known as the Abyss, ripping through an empty space, but I was already considering the possibility that the Heavenly Demon was already somewhere in the world.

‘Is the Heavenly Demon also in the Palace?’

I prayed that wasn’t the case.

If the Heavenly Demon I knew of was really in this place, then everyone could die.

At least that’s the Heavenly Demon I knew of.

After uncovering the secret of the Black Palace and meeting the Blood Demon, I thought that something like this was also possible.

‘Fuck.’

Considering how my predictions on bad things were never wrong, I was extremely anxious.

How could one’s life be so shitty?

‘Sigh. Still, since the Palace Lord is here, then Gu Huibi must be fine.’

I deliberately broke the wall and exploded my energy, making a huge commotion, to get the Palace Lord’s attention.

It was because the Marble of Celestial Captivation had suddenly activated.

All of a sudden, it started to show me a vision all by itself.

It showed Gu Huibi talking to the Palace Lord in a jail.

However, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.

‘…If I was even a little bit late…’

Then Gu Huibi would have died.

The Palace Lord’s gaze and his hand that seemed to hesitate was enough for me to guess his intention.

‘Fucker.’

I didn’t have time to think about a different solution, so I ended up just making a commotion, and thanks to that, they put their guard up even higher.

‘But I didn’t have any other options.’

Everything would’ve ended anyway if I hadn’t done this.

I grasped Namgung Bi-ah’s arm harder.

She understood my intention and lowered her Qi presence right away.

I let out a sigh of relief.

‘Lowering one’s presence is not something easy.’

It was honestly ridiculous.

I was ready to apply a Qi Barrier on her, if she couldn’t do it, but she actually did this right away, huh.

Anyway, we were able to avoid detection for the time being.

But the problem started here.

‘It’s way too difficult.’

Due to the whole commotion, their guards must be up to the maximum.

Furthermore, there was no guarantee that the Palace Lord wouldn’t try to kill Gu Huibi again.

‘If he intended to kill her, why did he abduct her in the first place?’

I first needed to figure out his reason for abducting Gu Huibi, but no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t figure it out.

This didn’t happen in my previous life, and I didn’t know what the Black Palace’s goal was.

‘It’s too dangerous for me to just charge in.’

In a situation like this, even the leader of the famous Seven Night Assassins, the Dark King would hesitate to charge in.

The inside of the formation was completely different compared to the outside.

To begin with, there wasn’t any fog that surrounded the place anymore.

So, it would be much easier for the enemies to notice us if we were to make a mistake.

Furthermore, even the terrain was different.

‘How was something like this possible?’

Not only did they make it so that their base was not visible from the outside, but they also turned their Palace into a whole different world.

I’ve never seen anything like thi…

‘No, I did! I have seen something like this!’

I was able to remember one.

A place where I saw an absurd formation similar to this.

That time I found the secret vault of the Golden Sky Yeon Clan in Sichuan.

This felt similar to the formation I saw back then.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

It felt strange to say that it wasn’t a coincidence, yet it also didn’t feel right to dismiss it as one.

‘This is most likely the Great Oni’s work.’

That old man with a bunch of age spots, who managed the base of the Demonic Cult.

Only someone like him could do such a thing.

And even the mechanism that I had to face at the Black Palace branch in Mount Hua, was made by the Great Oni, so I was sure that old man was in the Black Palace right now.

‘But I can’t just recklessly dive into something like this.’

I may have reached a higher realm, but considering how I had a hard time even against the First Elder—who was practically a living corpse—there was no way for me to win against the Palace Lord in a one-on-one battle.

‘So, I’m hiding like this.’

Furthermore, it wasn’t just the Palace Lord; I also didn’t know how many martial artists were in the Black Palace.

In my previous life, I could have just stormed through the front door and burned everything in my path, but I lacked the power to do that now.

Knowing this, I had to wait for the right time.

The perfect moment to sneak into that tiny crack.

And such a time…

‘Just a little longer.’

Was not too far away, I believed.

*****************

Time passed.

Night and day alternated. And inside the jail where Gu Huibi was held, only silence remained.

It was because the Palace Lord had disappeared after the brief echoing sound and hadn’t appeared since.

Was this something she should consider fortunate?

Gu Huibi stared outside the cell with wide open eyes.

Snore-

Elder Mook’s snores continued to fill her ears, but she wasn’t even bothered by it at this point.

More than the snores of an old man, Gu Huibi found it far more important to read the situation.

The reason the Palace Lord went through the hardship of abducting instead of just killing her, must be because he needed her for some reason.

‘But, what about just earlier?’

Gu Huibi knew that she had narrowly escaped death back then.

The Palace Lord had definitely tried to kill her.

She wasn’t mistaken.

‘It seems like his plans somehow went wrong.’

It started ever since he saw the child on her lap.

The Palace Lord’s aura had slightly changed then.

The child. Yes, it seemed that the child was the problem.

‘Was it because I was too close to the child?’

It might have been her mocking the Palace Lord that made him lose his temper.

Or, it could be because she spoke to the child—for not even a full day.

‘But why would that be a problem?’

She couldn’t understand, but Gu Huibi believed that the Palace Lord tried to kill her for a reason close to that.

‘Is it because of some flawed paternal love? Hmm. That doesn’t seem likely.’

It didn’t even seem like they had such a relationship to begin with.

And as for the reason she treated that child like that, it was just that for Gu Huibi, the child was simply a ‘child.’

She was able to understand the emotion held in the child’s eyes.

It was because of all her experience in taking care of Gu Yangcheon, Gu Yeonseo, and Gu Ryunghwa when they were young.

And because she remembered the look in her eyes as they reflected off the eyes of Gu Yangcheon’s mother.

Which was why she knew.

The eyes of that child, they were definitely looking for love.

She didn’t know what the Palace Lord’s end goal was, but Gu Huibi couldn’t just let such a thing pass.

She couldn’t even have a proper conversation with the child in that short period.

‘But what even is that child?’

The moment she first saw them, she realized that the child wasn’t ordinary.

Eyes that instinctively looked down on a person and the mysterious aura that could be felt from the child.

Furthermore, she knew a person with a similar aura as the child.

Their faces looked similar as well.

Could it be a coincidence?

‘No.’

Gu Huibi shook her head.

Such a thing couldn’t happen by mere chance.

-Snore.

Gu Huibi frowned at the snoring old man behind her.

“…Ugh.”

She wanted to ask him something, but judging by the past few hours, Elder Mook didn’t seem to have any intention of waking up.

She had tried everything on him, even blocking his nose and slapping him a little, but because her strength was significantly reduced, it must have only felt ticklish for Elder Mook.

Of course, just because it was Elder Mook, it didn’t mean that he knew everything.

But for some reason, Gu Huibi felt like he knew.

“Tsk.”

Frustrated, she clicked her tongue.

She didn’t know what to do.

She was at a loss.

She felt helpless, and her ignorance about the situation made her feel even more frustrated.

But still…

‘Let’s get it together.’

Gu Huibi quickly shook off her growing despair.

She couldn’t afford to lose hope when, at the very least, she could look for a way to escape.

So first…

“Elder Mook, please wake up.”

She had to wake up that snoring old man, who might know something.

But Elder Mook didn’t wake up no matter how hard she shook him.

She wondered if she should really hit him to wake him up.

How could he sleep so pleasantly, snoring all day long?

After much contemplation, Gu Huibi finally decided—she would hit him until he woke up.

But just as she was about to lift her arm…

“Is it daytime?”

Elder Mook spoke.

“…!”

Gu Huibi was taken aback. Elder Mook had spoken with such a clarity that she doubted if he was even sleeping.

“Daytime…?”

“Yes, what time is it right now?”

Gu Huibi, hiding her shock, looked outside the small window in the jail.

“It’s daytime, the sun is shining brightly… Hmm?”

Her voice trailed off in confusion.

Outside the window, it was certainly daytime, but…

Something was different.

Where there should be a blue sky…

There was a red one instead.

‘…What, is that?’

The sky had taken on an orange hue, reminiscent of a sunset, but that wasn’t possible.

It wasn’t even noon yet.

“I see, I see.”

Elder Mook nodded, as she watched the absurd sight.

Lifting his body, he spoke.

“So he finally came.”

Hearing Elder Mook, Gu Huibi’s eyes slightly shook.

She felt like she finally understood what the red sky meant.

******************

The Palace Lord, who had been resting in his seat, opened his eyes.

His eyes still shone with a faint violet color.

He slowly stood up.

“Hooo…”

He felt it.

The air was filled with such dense Qi; how could he not?

“…I thought you’d change a little, but you still seem the same.”

He said, moving towards the balcony.

When he arrived at the balcony, he saw a bright sky surrounding the whole palace, even over the formation barrier.

It was bright. So bright that it even seemed red.

As the Palace Lord watched this scene, he felt cold sweat trickling down his back.

“Hah, and here I thought he was just a toothless old tiger.”

A tiger dreaming of the day to die.

His teeth all but worn out and fallen.

Hiding inside its cave, barely holding onto life.

“But even if time has passed, a great tiger is truly a great tiger.”

He could tell as he watched the red sky.

That was an illusion, one made with an immense amount of Inner Qi.

A flame ignited by determination, rising up to the sky, showing his will.

It was a sight way too terrifying for humans to create.

Yet, such a sight was made with the strength of a single man.

Blaaaze!

The fog outside the formation barrier was engulfed in flames.

The very fog that Gu Yangcheon couldn’t even move with his Qi, was being incinerated, vanishing into nothingness.

The flames, more red than anything, raged as if they wanted to consume the whole world.

The scene he saw in front of him, it resembled a tsunami.

A colossal tsunami made of flames.

As he watched such a scene, the Palace Lord was reminded of a person.

A monster of a man, with flaming red hair that had turned red from his overabundant Fire Qi.

A demon who burned people alive, with not a lick of emotion on his face.

‘Flaming Demon.’

Those flames definitely belonged to the Flaming Demon.

In other words…

The Flaming Demon, Gu Cheolun, had appeared on this land.

Such a grand entrance of itself, making his presence known to his enemies without any hesitation, showed what kind of a martial artist Gu Cheolun truly was.

‘But even if that’s the case…’

How was Gu Cheolun able to find the location of the Palace?

The Palace Lord couldn’t help but frown at such a question.

Putting that matter aside, there was still a bigger mystery.

The Palace Lord leaped off the balcony and into the air, deep in thought.

‘Who was responsible for destroying the wall, then?’

The disturbance that had occurred earlier.

If the Flaming Demon had just appeared outside the barrier, then who was behind the earlier disturbance?

‘Something is fishy.’

The Palace Lord had a feeling that the situation was unfolding in a strange way.

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