Absolute Regression

After meeting my father, I went straight to the Demon Doctor’s clinic.

He happened to be treating a critical patient. The injuries seemed severe, as blood covered not only the patient but the entire surrounding area. The first scent that greeted me upon returning was the metallic smell of the Iron Workshop, and the next was the not dissimilar smell of blood.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I’m fine.”

I stood at a distance and watched him work. The Demon Doctor, covered in blood, was doing everything he could to save the patient’s life.

Whether it wasGwak Bangju, the head of the Iron Workshop, or the Demon Doctor, those who have reached the pinnacle of their field exude a similar aura. Their dedication and focus on saving lives reminded me of Gwak Bangju’s relentless pursuit of crafting the best swords.

After a battle-like treatment session, the Demon Doctor finally approached me.

“Have you been waiting long?”

“Not at all. Can I really watch the miracle of saving a dying person for free like this?”

After such a hard-fought effort, could that really be true? It was sheer luck that his life was saved under the care of the Demon Doctor.

The Demon Doctor washed his hands and face in a basin of water set in a corner of the clinic. Seeing his frail arms made me feel a pang of sympathy.

“I haven’t visited often, using busyness as an excuse. I’m sorry.”

“Not at all. Seeing you once in a while like this is enough. I hear about you often. Every time I do, I think, ‘I made the right choice,’ so thank you for that.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Doctor.”

“How are your eyes?”

“No problems at all. They see too well, if anything.”

“That’s a relief.”

After deciding to kill Yaryuhan, I wanted to see him.

Hearing my father’s words, “Absolutely not”, I sought the Demon Doctor to muster my own courage. Deep down, I wanted to tell him that I planned to kill Yaryuhan soon, but that would have to wait until I got my father’s permission.

“Since you’re here, why don’t we have a cup of tea?”

“Sounds good.”

I chatted with the Demon Doctor, catching up on everything that had piled up. However, before long, another patient arrived, and I had to leave.

“I’ll come again.”

“You’re busy, no need.”

I will certainly come back soon.

* * *

The next person I sought out was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

He was seated in the courtyard with his Heaven-Extinguishing Saber stuck into the ground beside him, leaning against it while meditating and regulating his energy. The remnants of his training intensity lingered in the surrounding space. Even while I was out slacking off with the Fist Demon King, Gu Cheonpa hadn’t paused his martial arts training.

“Elder! I’m back!” I greeted him enthusiastically, as if I had returned in triumph.

In contrast, old man Blade acknowledged my presence as if he had just seen me yesterday, his reaction calm and indifferent.

“If you’ve been on a long journey, you should rest. What brings you here?”

“What do you mean? Even if I don’t greet anyone else, I must greet you, Elder. Besides, I have something to report.”

“What report?”

I proudly sat down across from the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“I’ve become the Fist Demon King’s disciple.”

He glanced at me briefly but said nothing.

“What’s with this dry response?”

“What kind of reaction were you expecting?”

“For you to get angry that I became a disciple without your permission, or maybe to get jealous and say that if I were to be anyone’s disciple, it should be yours.”

Then Gu Cheonpa said something unexpected.

“There’s no Demon Supreme who would take you as a disciple other than the Fist Demon King.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Personality-wise.”

“What about you, Elder?”

“I prefer a disciple like Daeryong, someone I can push around while teaching them.” 1

“Ah! Poor Investigator Seo.”

“That’s the price of clinging to another’s hem uninvited.”

He said this because their master-disciple relationship began when Seo Daeryong, completely drunk at the Flowing Wind Tavern, clung to the hem of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s pants.

Of course, I knew. Despite his words, Gu Cheonpa cared a lot about Seo Daeryong. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen him as the next Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“If you became my disciple, you’d be driving me to a nervous breakdown in less than a month.” 2

“I can’t deny that.”

“On the other hand, the Fist Demon King won’t have a breakdown.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because he never intended to push anyone around in the first place. If the Cult Leader and I are fire, then he is water.”

I had thought of the Fist Demon King as fire, like my father, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon perceived him as water. Perhaps he was right. As fire and water, the two might have complemented each other well.

“To be honest, I was worried you might be upset, Elder.”

“Worried this narrow-minded old man would sulk?”

“Narrow-minded? No, I just thought you care deeply about me.”

“In the past, I would’ve been. Before I knew you, I surely would’ve been upset.”

“And now?”

“Now, I’ve changed. Because of you.”

“Because of me?”

“Are you saying that while making it so an old man with such a narrow mind can’t go with you?”

“…!”

I never imagined in my wildest dreams that he was thinking this way.

“After forming a bond with you, I started reflecting on myself. You kept pushing my limits. At first, you annoyed me, then you surprised me, and now you’re moving me.”

“Does that include your training as well?”

“Yes. If I keep strutting around, relying only on my current skills, I have a feeling I’ll be swept away by the storm. You’ve already started ascending.”

When I first met him, he told me that a rising dragon brings storms with it. At that time, it was just a metaphor, but now those words had become reality.

Gu Cheonpa looked at me with serious eyes, and unlike before, I didn’t joke around about him being a slippery fish or anything. He was right. If we strutted around carelessly relying on our skills, we’d all end up dead.

That’s why we had to keep moving forward.

“I’ll use the first of the thirty-three requests I can make.”

Old man Blade blinked and asked.

“Thirty-three requests? Did we have something like that between us?”

“Of course not. I just figured I might need your help thirty-three times in the future. I made it up on my own.”

“Who said you could?”

“Until you fulfill those thirty-three requests, you aren’t allowed to even catch a cold. Got it?”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon let out a chuckle as if he couldn’t argue with my absurd demand that included my wish for him to live long.

“What do you want?”

“Convince my father for me.”

“The Cult Leader? Why?”

“I want permission to eliminate Yaryuhan of the Unorthodox Alliance.”

Gu Cheonpa didn’t look surprised. In fact, he was so calm that it made me wonder if he should really be this unshaken.

“Why aren’t you surprised?”

“Because you’re a madman, I figured you could pull off something like this.”

“Isn’t it the storm of a rising dragon?”

“No. This is just plain madness.”

“Please let me do this one crazy thing.”

“At least tell me why. Why do you want to kill him?”

I told the Blood Heaven Blade Demon that Yaryuhan’s subordinate, Jisaeng the Golden Pig, was using the Divine Debt to lead the young generation of the martial world to ruin.

I couldn’t tell him about the Demon Doctor’s revenge. That was a deeply personal matter.

“If that’s your reason, the Cult Leader won’t allow it.”

“That’s why I’m asking you, Elder.”

After a brief pause, old man Blade asked.

“If permission is granted… are you confident you can kill him?”

“I’ll have to try.”

“It’s not just him; his subordinates are no pushovers either. And if things go south, it could escalate into a war between our Cult and the Unorthodox Alliance.”

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon also feared the outbreak of war.

“Is this worth the risk?”

“The young ones who have just stepped into the world are being deceived by those worn-out scoundrels, forced into committing all sorts of evil acts, and in the end, they either die as sacrificial pawns or end their own lives. Is it worth it, you ask? Yes, it is worth it.”

Even without the promise to the Demon Doctor, Yaryuhan’s atrocities would continue.

In my past life before the regression, I was too focused on gathering materials for the Great Regression Technique to pay much attention to the Unorthodox Alliance. But even then, all the rumors I kept hearing were about the crimes committed by Yaryuhan’s subordinates.

If fate has brought me to stand before him at this point, I believe it’s right to deal with him now.

“Why did someone like you have to be born into our Cult? Why not as the son of the Leader of the Murim Alliance?”

“To keep me from fighting with you, perhaps.”

Gu Cheonpa let out a light sigh.

“There is someone within the Unorthodox Alliance who will help me.”

“Who?”

“The Unorthodox Alliance’s successor, Bih Sa-in.”

Bih Sa-in will surely aid me, even if only to repay past debts, and he will make an excellent ally.

After a moment of consideration, the Blade Demon said something that Dan Woo-gang might have said.

“To change the Cult Leader’s mind, all eight Demon Supremes would have to step in. If you can demonstrate that level of influence, the Cult Leader might find a reason to relent.”

Since this was the opinion of the two people who knew my father best, my heart felt heavy.

“The Eight Demon Supremes are difficult. For now, the Demonic Buddha and the Poison King support my brother, so they won’t help me.”

Gu Cheonpa pulled out the blade stuck in the ground and said,

“Are you sure those are the only two who would refuse?”

He added as he walked into the house,

“Your real relationships might be starting just now.”

* * *

As expected, it was just as the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had predicted.

So Yeonrang rejected it outright. She turned me down as cleanly as her swordsmanship.

“That’s not going to happen.”

Her reason for refusal was just as straightforward.

“Young Master, I’ll be frank with you. I don’t want to fall out of favor with the Cult Leader over something like this.”

I could understand. She had held a deep respect for my father since she was young, more than anyone else. She didn’t want to go against his wishes, especially over something he would never approve of.

“I understand, senior.”

To be honest, I had somewhat expected that the One-Slash Sword Supreme would refuse. I always felt a step further from her compared to the other Demon Supremes. Aside from martial arts, I never had the chance to build a deep personal connection with her.

“Are you disappointed?”

If I answered too straightforwardly, it might genuinely upset her.

“Yes, I am disappointed. You’re being too harsh!”

So Yeonrang smiled.

“I hope you understand.”

I returned a half-joking, half-serious smile.

“I understand. After all, my father is no ordinary person, right? I know how much pressure you must feel, senior.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“I apologize in advance, but this might not be the end of it. I might come back to persuade you again.”

“We’ll see.”

However, getting permission for this from someone I considered a step closer to me was not much easier.

The next person I visited was the Great Drunken Demon. When I asked him to persuade my father, he suddenly started pretending to be drunk.

“Ah! Suddenly, the drunkenness is kicking in.”

Song Sa-hyuk collapsed onto the table, pretending to sleep.

I quietly took a sip of my drink, and he spoke while lying facedown.

“I’ll help with anything else. What do you want? Need me to buy you drinks for life? Want me to lend you money? Should I head to the Valley of Wicked and beat up those guys again?”

“No, just persuade my father.”

At that, the Great Drunken Demon, who had been lying with his head on the table, suddenly got up and jumped straight into the lake.

He swam wildly from one end of the lake to the other like a madman before climbing back to the pavilion. Soaking wet, he sat in his original spot with a determined expression and said,

“I’d rather quit drinking.”

The idea of Song Sa-hyuk quitting alcohol made me chuckle.

“Is it that hard?”

“What do you think the Cult Leader will think if I go to him? ‘Look at this bastard, coming to persuade me even though he knows I oppose this?’ The Cult Leader already dislikes me as it is.”

“Why does Father dislike you?”

“He just does. He doesn’t like drunks, and he doesn’t like poison users. The Cult Leader is very clear about what he likes and dislikes. I can’t do it! Absolutely not! I’m sorry, brother.”

I didn’t push him any further. If it were about something else, maybe, but this involved my father—how could I not understand? Even if it wasn’t just about my father, if the other person didn’t want to, I couldn’t force them.

“If you’re really sorry, go sober for the next ten days!”

“I’ll quit drinking! I’m sorry!”

“You don’t have to be sorry, brother. It’s my fault for pestering you with an unreasonable request.”

“We can’t let this affect our relationship!”

“Brother, our relationship wouldn’t sour because I made a request or because you refused it.”

“Then why would it?”

“When we’re not honest with each other. It’s fine to say, ‘I can’t do it because of this’, but imagine if you agreed just to match my mood. If you force yourself to do something you don’t want to, you’d end up frustrated and annoyed, and eventually, you might even end up hating me.”

Song Sa-hyuk nodded, looking like he knew exactly what I meant.

“You did well to refuse, brother. I’m going to ask for many more favors in the future—like joining me in beating someone up, drinking with me when I’m lonely, or helping me convince someone. And when that time comes, you have to be just as honest with me. Never think, ‘I refused last time, so I have to force myself to do it this time’. That’s when our relationship would start to crack, got it?”

The Great Drunken Demon stared at me quietly and then said,

“From now on, you be the older brother. I mean it.”

“No thanks. What would become of a little brother who lives for the fun of teasing his big brother? Come on, brother!”

“Ah, what a shameful brother I am.”

“Of all things, being afraid of Father is nothing to be ashamed of. Alright, I’m leaving now. I’ll probably come back because of this again. See you then.”

With that, I left Song Sa-hyuk’s place.

Gu Cheonpa was right. Convincing the Demon Supremes might be even harder than persuading my father.

If it was already difficult to persuade those I considered allies, like the One-Slash Sword Supreme and the Great Drunken Demon, how much harder would it be to get all eight of them on board for Father to grant his permission? A sigh escaped me, but this wasn’t the time to be discouraged—it was time to figure out a way. 3

Next, I headed to where my battle comrade was. I was curious to see how he would react.

1 : Lol, you bully XDXDXD

2 : True ^ ^ He’s too much of a madman to be properly contained ^ ^

3 : I’m very curious to see how he’ll manage to reach his goal.

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