The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life

Chapter 99: It’s Over

Yoo Seoyeon sat on the stone steps arranged at the edge of the training hall.

She looked utterly exhausted, her shoulders drooping and her head hung low.

Seeing this, Cheon Kyungwan approached her.

“Today was tough, wasn’t it?”

At his question, Yoo Seoyeon nodded weakly without raising her head.

Physically drained, she also felt mentally exhausted. What truly wore her out wasn’t the physical strain, but the overwhelming sense of helplessness.

Today, she felt like she couldn’t do anything. No, more than that, she finally realized that she was nothing at all.

Cheon Kyungwan gazed at her, a bitter smile crossing his face. He had gone through the same experience.

“Did you also try the ‘Splitting the Spear’ technique?”

Yoo Seoyeon suddenly lifted her head and looked at Cheon Kyungwan.

“How… how can you be so unaffected by it, Brother?”

From a distance, the people training in the Spirit Wing Divine Art glanced over, curiously watching the conversation and the atmosphere between the two.

Cheon Kyungwan had been told to rest from training the Spirit Wing Divine Art yesterday and today.

And Yoo Seoyeon’s rest was scheduled for today and tomorrow.

If one trained with Byeok Taesan one-on-one, they could take a break the following day.

Of course, this was still a new rule, and not everyone was fully aware of it yet.

Cheon Kyungwan looked directly into Yoo Seoyeon’s eyes.

The shift between them had happened so abruptly, just yesterday.

Yesterday, Cheon Kyungwan had sat in the same position as Yoo Seoyeon was now.

Seeing that, Yoo Seoyeon comforted him.

And now this was the result.

“Anyway, you’ll eventually succeed.”

At Cheon Kyungwan’s words, Yoo Seoyeon’s pupils trembled. She couldn’t bring herself to agree with that statement.

Sometimes, no amount of effort, time, or experience could change certain things in this world.

Today, Yoo Seoyeon experienced that firsthand.

She now understood clearly why Byeok Taesan had said those words long ago.

Finishing today’s training, she had thought exactly that: It would be better to die.

It wasn’t the pain or the difficulty she couldn’t bear. It was the realization of her utter helplessness, a realization that crushed her spirit.

“You don’t believe me, do you?”

At Cheon Kyungwan’s words, Yoo Seoyeon let out a bitter smile.

But Cheon Kyungwan remained serious.

“To be honest… you’ll probably finish this training before I do.”

Yoo Seoyeon stared at him blankly.

Cheon Kyungwan truly believed this. Surely, there had to be a reason for that.

“You have far sharper senses than I do.”

Yoo Seoyeon couldn’t easily accept it. Yet, for some reason, her heart felt a little more at ease.

She suddenly jumped up and grabbed Cheon Kyungwan’s hand.

Startled, Cheon Kyungwan looked back and forth between her face and her hand.

Without warning, Yoo Seoyeon pulled him out of the training hall.

Everyone who witnessed the scene exchanged meaningful glances.

Next in line for training was Yeon Harin.

Yeon Harin went through the same training.

However, her response was somewhat different from that of Cheon Kyungwan and Yoo Seoyeon.

Byeok Taesan watched her collapse with a curious expression in his eyes.

There was a fierce determination in her gaze that seemed to flow out of her eyes, like a venomous resolve.

Of course, this training couldn’t be completed by sheer resolve alone.

If that were the case, Yoo Seoyeon would have succeeded already.

But Yoo Seoyeon’s resolve had been shattered, and with it, her spirit had fallen.

Despite that, Byeok Taesan wasn’t worried. He believed that, in the end, she would overcome it—and then become much stronger.

If she couldn’t overcome it, the problem would escalate, but that, too, wasn’t something that concerned him.

Whatever it took, he would make sure she overcame it. It would be a painful process, but that was still better than letting her spirit die with her will.

‘This is what compassion is.’

As Byeok Taesan thought he had come to a realization about compassion, he felt strangely pleased.

At that moment, when Yeon Harin tried to sneak up on the spear, he quickly struck her in the side.

She had tried to take advantage of a gap in his attention.

But Byeok Taesan could sense everything that happened in a training hall of this size without even needing to look.

Thud!

“Ahhh!”

Was it because the strike had come so unexpectedly? Yeon Harin took a much harder hit than usual.

“Ahhhhh!”

Yeon Harin let out a monstrous scream.

Though she felt like tears might come from her frustration, she refused to let them show, forcing herself to hold them back with a fierce shout.

Venomous energy leaked from her entire body as she charged once more.

But the result was no different.

Watching this, Byeok Taesan felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘She really is similar.’

That moment just now—her reaction—was almost an exact replica of someone he knew.

At first, he thought it was just a coincidence. After all, how many people in the world had similarities to others?

Some people resemble others in appearance, others in personality, some even in their tone or behavior.

So, it wasn’t strange to think that Yeon Harin resembled someone Byeok Taesan knew.

But the more he observed, the more similarities he noticed.

Of course, she didn’t resemble that woman in appearance.

That woman was also beautiful, indeed, one of the most beautiful in the world, but she didn’t look like Yeon Harin.

And while Yeon Harin might not have resembled her when he first met her, the current Yeon Harin was even more beautiful than that woman he had known.

This gave rise to a new suspicion in his mind.

‘Could it be…?’

Could something have changed in Yeon Harin when Byeok Taesan took possession of his body? Perhaps something had happened to her as well?

Of course, it wasn’t that another soul had entered her.

‘Wait.’

Suddenly, Byeok Taesan recalled the half-Jiangshi he had encountered not long ago.

When he had extracted and burned the soul of Mad Blood Trio, he had felt something stirring in the back of his mind—a faint realization that was just out of reach.

That memory, combined with the current scene with Yeon Harin, created an uncanny overlap.

No, it wasn’t that Yeon Harin had another soul inside her. If that were the case, Byeok Taesan would have noticed.

The half-Jiangshi he had fought had shown subtle mismatches between their bodies and souls. But Yeon Harin displayed none of those signs.

And yet, there was still an odd feeling of overlap.

‘Could it be… that another soul has somehow mixed with hers?’

As that thought crossed his mind, a moment of clarity struck him, and he realized there was no reason it couldn’t be possible.

Byeok Taesan recalled the mismatched bodies and souls of those half-Jiangshi.

At that very moment, he saw Yeon Harin, having exhausted all her energy, collapse in the distance.

As he watched her fall, Byeok Taesan entered a trance-like state.

••••

Go Jun-kwang had relocated his base far from Wuhan.

He had moved faster than both the Martial Alliance and the Black Lotus, so the damage was minimal.

However, now it was much harder to make any moves in Wuhan.

The base had moved further away, and most of his available strength had already been used up.

All that remained were some members who had taken Blood Augmentation Pill and three hundred or so half-Jiangshi, none of whom were particularly useful aside from gathering rumors.

Trying to make something of Wuhan with this was impossible.

Moreover, considering the current situation in Wuhan, even with his original forces, it would have been unfeasible.

‘I’m fortunate I still have one remaining thread to hold on to…’

Go Jun-kwang shook his head.

Even so, in this situation, it was useless. It would be far better to remain silent and wait.

Then, when the true opportunity came, he could use it more effectively.

Go Jun-kwang decisively cut off any lingering attachments to Wuhan.

But if that was the end of it, hell would open up before him. He needed to find another solution.

The solution Go Jun-kwang came up with was Yichang, or, more specifically, Hubei Marital Alliance.

The person originally in charge of Yichang was Seo Daegun.

But Seo Daegun had failed and was reassigned to another mission in Wuhan.

And that, too, had ended in failure.

Thus, Go Jun-kwang’s only hope was to succeed where Seo Daegun had failed.

No, he needed to use that success to extend his own life.

“Sigh”

Go Jun-kwang sighed deeply.

So now, he was on his way to meet that person. He had to explain how valid his plan was.

Although he had fully braced himself, he was still afraid.

Go Jun-kwang passed through a long corridor and entered a massive room. Glass display cases lined the walls.

Go Jun-kwang politely bowed to the man standing in the center of the room.

“I’m sorry.”

He had to apologize first. After all, if he wanted to survive, he had no other choice.

The man looked down at Go Jun-kwang with an indifferent gaze.

Go Jun-kwang trembled, keeping his back bent. He couldn’t straighten up until the man allowed it. For now, he had to stay as flat as possible.

The man slowly walked over to the display case and took out several black urns.

“Take them.”

Go Jun-kwang swallowed hard. Then, after straightening his back slowly, he politely received the urns.

“This is your last chance.”

Go Jun-kwang flinched at the man’s words, but quickly bowed again and retreated, leaving the room.

The four black urns in his hands glimmered with a sinister sheen.

•••

Heavenly Divine Healer lay face down in front of Byeok Taesan.

Needle Master was alone, diligently chopping herbs. He worked hard, worried that if he slacked off, Byeok Taesan might scold him later.

Byeok Taesan looked down at Heavenly Divine Healer with an indifferent expression.

“You’re doing pointless things.”

Heavenly Divine Healer cautiously lifted his head.

“Ah, Young Master, why is it pointless? It’s best to deal with these things early, so they won’t cause problems later. It should be quiet for a while now.”

It was a reasonable point. Byeok Taesan nodded.

“Fine, do as you wish.”

“Thank you!”

Heavenly Divine Healer said and then, after a slight pause, stood up. It was time to bring up the main topic.

“Um… Young Master. That… Black Lotus guy, Gyeol.”

Heavenly Divine Healer began and carefully glanced at Byeok Taesan for his reaction. Fortunately, there was no significant change.

“That guy wants to meet with Chae Wol.”

Byeok Taesan’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Seeing this, Heavenly Divine Healer hastily added,

“I swear, there’s no ill intent! He just wants to ask if he can take her on as an apprentice!”

“Ugh, annoying people.”

Byeok Taesan briefly thought about giving him a slap.

And Heavenly Divine Healer, sensing Byeok Taesan’s thoughts perfectly, quickly spoke up.

“I’ll make sure nothing goes wrong. Trust me. I’ll even have my older brother accompany them, so it will be fine. Absolutely.”

Byeok Taesan stared at Heavenly Divine Healer with cold eyes.

“That better be the case.”

Heavenly Divine Healer swallowed nervously, steeling himself.

‘Still, I wonder if my older brother can beat Gyeol Gyeong?’

Gyeol Gyeong was a formidable opponent. Originally, Needle Master would have had a bit of a disadvantage. They didn’t quite match well.

But after his recent breakthrough, Needle Master had greatly improved. So, he might be able to manage now.

Heavenly Divine Healer considered bringing one or two more people along, just in case. He felt uneasy.

Byeok Taesan sat cross-legged on his bed, with his eyes gently closed.

Energy swirled around his body.

He felt the energy wrapping around his entire being. It was of the highest quality. There was also a considerable amount.

This had been made possible by the energy extracted from the half-Jiangshi not too long ago.

He had been lucky enough to absorb a great deal of energy that suited his body.

Typically, out of a hundred or so, only a fraction of the energy would be usable for his body.

But this time, he had extracted four times the usual amount of energy.

He had carefully applied all of it to the wounded and severed qi pathways.

Over time, the wounds had gradually healed, and there were no longer any severed qi pathways.

The damage had mostly been reduced to deep scars.

He had thoroughly infused the energy into these injuries, and thanks to the enlightenment he gained from assisting Yeon Harin with her training, the recovery effect was much greater.

The true Soul Augmenting Demonic Art he realized while dying was now steadily growing as he lived in Byeok Taesan’s body.

However, that didn’t mean he had surpassed the level he reached when he was the Heavenly Demon.

Though this path was the right one, the sheer amount of power that could be exerted in one go was overwhelmingly greater in his former state.

Back then, he would consume any spirit and soul he came across, absorbing them all indiscriminately.

He would then release the immense energy without bothering to control it.

As a result, the output back then was far beyond anything he could do now.

In any case, Byeok Taesan was much more satisfied with his current state.

Though he wasn’t as strong as before, he would surpass that point someday.

And this time, there would be no side effects.

Byeok Taesan calmly controlled the turbulent energy.

He absorbed all the energy that had been sticking to his qi pathways and evenly distributed it throughout his body.

This energy would gradually transform Byeok Taesan’s body over a long period of time. For the better.

With everything done, Byeok Taesan slowly opened his eyes.

A faint smile curled on his lips.

“It’s over.”

Finally, his damaged body had been fully repaired.

Byeok Taesan was no longer suffering from Severed Meridians Syndrome.