Absolute Regression

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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< Chapter 197: I Will Become the Heavenly Demon >

The moment the match result was confirmed, Chu Ga-o, the leader of the Black Path branch, immediately mobilized his subordinates.

The young Fist Demon King, who was waiting at his home, was prepared for death, as he was under heavy surveillance with no way to escape. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoken the way he did as soon as he saw Chu Ga-o.

“Made a lot of money, didn’t you?”

Chu Ga-o’s anger surged to its peak.

“You won’t die peacefully.” 1

This time, he had suffered a massive loss. It wasn’t just his own money; he had also involved funds from other organizations, putting his own life at risk.

On top of that, this young fighter had twisted the knife even further.

“I’ve told the arena owner about this. You know who’s backing the arena, right?” 2

Chu Ga-o’s expression hardened. The backer, the Unorthodox Alliance, was intimidating enough that he only dared to manipulate matches discreetly during the most critical moments.

He had been doing fine until now, but this time, he’d made a grave mistake. He had never encountered someone this crazy before. He knew the kid had a temper, but he never imagined that even after leaving such a large scar on his chest to intimidate him, he would pull something like this.

“A foolish kid who doesn’t value his life.”

“It’s your life that’s in danger!”

Through this ordeal, the Fist Demon King had made a resolution: no matter what life he led, he would never have friends or family.

How perfect is that? It allowed him to defy such dirty threats and do as he pleased.

Of course, it was unfortunate. He would die here today, unable to put his resolution into practice.

Chu Ga-o gave orders to his subordinates.

“Bring that bastard to his knees in front of me.”

Chu Ga-o had no intention of letting this wretch die easily.

Dozens of Black Path men drew their weapons simultaneously. Though the Fist Demon King had been undefeated in the arena, facing such a large number without any inner power was a daunting challenge.

Yet the Fist Demon King remained entirely undaunted.

“For every one of you I kill, I’ll save another life,” he declared. 3

He pulled gloves from his coat and slipped them on. Sharp spikes, like awls, protruded from the front of the gloves.

“They’re coated with deadly poison. Even a scratch will have you lying in bed for life, sipping gruel.”

It was a lie. But it was a tactic to make them hesitate.

Among the Black Path men gathered, those who had fought the Fist Demon King before flinched. The last time they fought him, they ended up injured and knocked out—and now he was claiming his fists were laced with poison?

“You cowardly bastard!”

At Chu Ga-o’s command, Dan Woo-gang shouted back.

“What? You guys are running around with swords, but I can’t use these? You come at me six dozens against one and I’m not allowed to have an advantage ? You trashy Black Path bastards! Come at me, all of you!” 4

Chu Ga-o yelled out, “Kill him! I’ll give three hundred nyang to the one who kills him first!”

With a reward that outweighed everything else, the Black Path men charged at him, swinging their swords.

The Fist Demon King ran toward the back courtyard. The leading Black Path men, who had been chasing him enthusiastically, suddenly fell into a pit.

“Arghhh!”

The courtyard had been prepared with traps, sharp spear tips planted at the bottom.

The Fist Demon King had come fully prepared to fight today. He wasn’t thinking of fighting with just his fists. His goal was to survive, and if he were to die, he planned to take as many of them with him as possible.

A few men fell into the pit and died, but the Black Path men were seasoned fighters. Against a martial artist, they might have hesitated, but this was just a young man without any inner power.

Driven by greed, they relentlessly swung their swords at him. If they managed to land a sword in his body, the three hundred nyang reward would be theirs. The men, crazed by the promise of money, charged at him like madmen.

The Fist Demon King moved with incredible speed, dodging incoming swords and throwing punches.

The men who were struck by his spiked fists screamed in pain.

Curses filled the air, and the Black Path men were in a frenzy. They charged at him, screaming even as blood poured from their wounds.

Dan Woo-gang dodged blades flying at him from all directions, rolling on the ground.

He leaped up and dashed toward a wall, then spun around and threw a dagger. The blade embedded itself in the body of a man chasing him. He threw stones from the ground, picked up the enemies’ swords, and swung them around.

Chu Ga-o shouted, “You’ve betrayed the honor of a fighter!”

It was a taunt meant to keep him from using other weapons, but it had no effect at all.

“I betrayed it because of you. So you deal with your men yourself!”

The Fist Demon King fought fiercely. He punched, grappled, rolled, jumped, and kicked—raging like a wounded beast.

But there were too many of them. No matter how exceptional his movements were, he was overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.

Blood spurted from Dan Woo-gang’s arms and side. He didn’t have the luxury to check where or how badly he was injured. He frantically swung his fists, dodging swords that flew at him from every direction.

Smack!

At that moment, a flying kick struck the Fist Demon King, sending him crashing into a pile of crates in the courtyard.

It was a vicious strike from Chu Ga-o, who had been waiting for an opportunity.

“Get those gloves off him!”

The Black Path men swarmed around and ripped the gloves off the Fist Demon King. In the process, he bit into the neck of one of them, and blood sprayed everywhere.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blows rained down on the Fist Demon King, leaving his face covered in blood.

Chu Ga-o looked down at him.

“I’ve never seen such a stubborn bastard.”

Chu Ga-o clicked his tongue as he glanced at his subordinates. It was at that moment that Dan Woo-gang hurled something from a bottle at him.

Chu Ga-o quickly waved his hand to block it.

Sizzle!

The liquid splashed onto his sleeve, burning it. What was thrown at him was Acid of Bone Dissolution.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Chu Ga-o, his eyes wide with fury, started stomping on the Fist Demon King. If he hadn’t dodged, his head would have been doused in the acid.

Dan Woo-gang curled up, trying to protect his vital points, but he sensed that this was the end.

‘So this is as far as I go.’

Faced with death, he felt fear creeping in. He also felt a deep sense of injustice and anger at the thought of dying at the hands of someone like Chu Ga-o.

When the beating paused for a moment, the Fist Demon King opened his eyes.

Chu Ga-o was pulling out a dagger.

“You won’t die easily.”

Dan Woo-gang, dazed, looked up at the night sky one last time. He wanted to catch a glimpse of the stars or the moon before dying.

‘Huh?’

Beyond Chu Ga-o’s shoulder, on a branch in the distance, a man was sitting, looking down at him. The Fist Demon King blinked, thinking it might be a hallucination, but when he opened his eyes again, the man was still there, illuminated by the bright full moon.

The man appeared to be a few years older than him.

The Fist Demon King met the man’s gaze. He had never felt fear from looking at another person before, but the coldness in this man’s eyes sent a chill down his spine.

‘Is he the reaper here to take me?’

That thought even crossed his mind.

But the man was not a reaper. One of the Black Path men spotted him by following his gaze.

“Hey! There’s someone over there!”

As all eyes focused on him, the man leapt off the branch effortlessly.

He jumped from quite a height, yet not a single sound was heard as he landed. Both the Black Path men and Dan Woo-gang were stunned by his extraordinary movement technique.

The man walked over slowly and looked at the Fist Demon King. He didn’t even glance at the Black Path men.

He asked the Fist Demon King, “Can you still fight?”

The Fist Demon King nodded and forced himself to stand. His whole body felt like it was breaking apart, and his legs were wobbling under his weight, but he gritted his teeth and kept going.

“I can fight.”

The man then turned his gaze to Chu Ga-o.

“Isn’t it disgraceful to treat a fighter like this?”

Judging by his knowledge of the Fist Demon King being a fighter, he was no mere passerby. It seemed he already understood exactly what was going on.

“Who are you, and where are you from?” Chu Ga-o asked, his nerves on edge. He was worried that a master from the Unorthodox Alliance had shown up because of his meddling.

But the young man’s response was completely unexpected.

“Fight fair and square.”

Whiiiish.

Without any chance to react, a gust of wind generated by the man suppressed Chu Ga-o’s inner power. The technique of subduing an opponent’s inner power with just a flick of a finger was something Chu Ga-o had only ever heard of in tales shared over drinks.

Startled, Chu Ga-o shouted reflexively, “Kill him! Kill this one too!”

But no one dared to charge at the man. Even without the display of skill, there was an undeniable aura about him that commanded respect and fear.

The man gestured for the Black Path men to form a circle around them. As if bewitched, the men arranged themselves in a ring, creating a small arena.

The Fist Demon King, who had barely managed to stand up, clenched his numb fists. He didn’t know who this man was, but he knew that missing this chance would mean his death.

Chu Ga-o also realized that to survive, he had to kill the Fist Demon King. Fortunately, although his inner power had been suppressed, his dagger and sword hadn’t been taken away.

‘If that’s the case, I still have a chance!’

But in fact there was no chance. Chu Ga-o swung his dagger wildly, only to lose his grip when it suddenly flew off his hand, then pulled out his sword and tried to flail it, only to have it snatched away as well.

Ultimately, it came down to a fistfight. And there was no way he could win barehanded against an opponent who had bested him even when he wielded a sword.

Thud! Thwack! Crack! Bam!

Dan Woo-gang’s enraged fists pounded into Chu Ga-o’s body.

“Why! Why do you torment people who are just trying to live their lives?! Why?!”

Chu Ga-o’s jaw and ribs shattered under the blows.

Unable to endure any longer, Chu Ga-o collapsed, panting heavily as he lay on the ground. The Fist Demon King pulled open his shirt, exposing the scar.

“You told me to look at this scar whenever I had stupid thoughts, didn’t you? Well, take a good look yourself before you fucking die.”

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With the final flurry of punches, Chu Ga-o’s life pitifully ended.

The Fist Demon King, panting heavily, stood up and looked at the man.

At that moment, a sword rose in front of the man. 5

Schwaaa.

The sword split into countless blade auras, forming sword-shaped energies that all shot up into the sky. As the Black Path men stared in awe at the spectacle above them.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword auras hanging in the air rained down like a storm, piercing the heads, faces, and chests of the Black Path men, dropping them all at once.

Not a single Black Path man was left alive.

Hearing the story, Geom Mugeuk exclaimed.

“‘Rain of a Thousand Swords,’ the Soaring Sword Art! So it was father!”

“That’s right. It was the Cult Leader.”

Geom Mugeuk was astonished. He hadn’t known that the person who discovered the Fist Demon King was his own father.

“That was the Cult Leader when he was your age, even before he was named as the successor.”

Hearing that the Cult Leader had saved the Fist Demon King, Geom Mugeuk felt a strange sense of awe.

“Standing amidst all those corpses, the Cult Leader looked at me and said, ‘Why don’t you turn those baby fists into the fists of a real man?’”

“Ah!”

Now, Geom Mugeuk understood where the Fist Demon King’s term “baby hands” originated from.

“So, what did you say?” Geom Mugeuk asked.

“I said no. How could I follow someone I didn’t even know? What if he was an assassin? What if he was the worst villain of our time? I told him, ‘Thank you for saving my life, but no, I’m not going with you.’”

Even in that situation, the Fist Demon King’s refusal was impressive. The young Fist Demon King seemed so full of life and defiance. It was astonishing to think that this vibrant spirit was hidden within the man who now silently oversaw the training of his subordinates every day, seeming stern and unyielding. Who would have imagined that Dan Woo-gang had such a lively youth?

“So, what did my father say to that?”

“He just turned around without a word, with a look that said, ‘Do as you please.’ As I watched his back, I suddenly felt that this wasn’t right. If I didn’t go with him, I’d never escape this damn fighting arena. I had been lucky to survive this time, but I realized I’d eventually end up dying in some similar dirty mess.”

The Fist Demon King recalled that pivotal moment. His destiny had changed because of that brief decision.

“Maybe if the Cult Leader had tried to persuade me, I would have stubbornly refused to the end. Back then, I thought that stubbornness and defiance were virtues. But as I watched him walk away, my body moved on its own. I ran after him, apologizing, saying my mind had changed. And then the Cult Leader looked at me and laughed. You know the one, right? The Cult Leader’s characteristic….”

“That condescending smirk, like he’s looking down on people?” 6

“Yeah, that one.”

“My father truly wears that smirk better than anyone else in the world,” Geom Mugeuk said.

“To be honest, the Cult Leader was impressive that day. He had a different kind of charm compared to you.”

“Am I impressive too?”

The Fist Demon King completely ignored my comment and continued his story.

“The Cult Leader brought me to the Cult without a word and put me into the Eastern Fist Faction. After that, he never came to see me again.”

“That sounds just like my father.”

“I climbed up from the Red Fists to the Black Fists all on my own. I really put in the blood, sweat, and tears back then.”

With his innate sense for martial arts, his talent, and his relentless effort, the Fist Demon King must have attracted everyone’s attention at the time.

“On the day I became part of the Black Fists, the Cult Leader came to see me. It was as if he had been watching me the whole time and showed up exactly on that day. Do you know what he said to me?”

“What did he say?”

Dan Woo-gang’s voice trembled slightly as he recalled that day.

“He said, ‘I will become the Heavenly Demon, so you become my Fist Demon King.’”

The bond between the two wasn’t just because they were obsessed with martial arts. It was because of this hidden past they shared.

Geom Mugeuk, shamelessly mimicking his father, said, “Then I will become the Heavenly Demon, so—”

“It’s too late. I’m already the Fist Demon King”, Dan Woo-gang interjected.

“Ah! Right, that’s something I should be saying to Cheon So-hee. Give me a moment; I’ll find something that suits us better”, Geom Mugeuk replied with a smirk.

Dan Woo-gang watched Geom Mugeuk intently.

For a brief moment, the image of young, arrogant Geom Woojin overlapped with Geom Mugeuk’s joking figure.

Two similar yet different people. If Geom Mugeuk was light, then Geom Woojin was darkness. If one felt so light he could float away, the other felt so heavy he seemed destined to sink forever. 7

But the Fist Demon King felt it again—the realization that light and darkness were not so different. They were bright yet dark, and dark yet bright.

“The Cult Leader took me away from this place, yet you were the one who brought me back here.”

The Fist Demon King had now met two young successors of the Cult, bound by blood, in this very place. He felt it was a sign of some grand destiny.

Then, Geom Mugeuk looked calmly at Dan Woo-gang and spoke with quiet resolve.

“I will be your disciple. Please become my master!”

1 : You didn’t plan to in the first place anyways, so might as well trash talk you properly.
2 : This kid had guts, I think old man Heavens liked him and sent him help. Or, following his rule, Dan Woo-gang’s struggles were met with adequate compensation.
3 : A good resolve. Respect.
4 : Run wild, be vicious, forget honor, the one who survive until the end was right by rule of the strongest. Plus, it’s not like trash like them can complain about fairness.
5 : So not the previous Fist Demon King. Maybe Geom Woojin ?
6 : Even young, he was still the Cult Leader XDXDXD
7 : Two sides of the same coin, the past, looking down at the cold abyss of broken dreams and memories, and the future, looking up at the bright sky full of hope and freedom.