Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe

EP.100 Future Plans

A martial artist’s body is both firm and flexible.

As such, there are many techniques that utilize the elasticity generated through flexibility.

A prime example is the Bow-String Snap technique, which involves bending the body like a bow and then springing forward with the recoil.

One hundred years ago, Sword Princess, one of the martial arts masters who faced the Heavenly Demon, had honed that flexibility to the extreme.

Believing she could never surpass men in strength, she chose a completely different approach, developing a body that could twist like a pretzel.

And based on the powerful elasticity stemming from that incredible flexibility, she created a destructive power that was not inferior to other male martial artists who had trained rigid bodies.

No, it was far more powerful.

Even the Heavenly Demon Baek Hwi had to nod in acknowledgment of that incredible flexibility and destructive power.

Of course.

“Is this how it’s done?”

The Heavenly Demon perfectly replicated Sword Princess’s body and technique just by seeing it once, the very technique she had created after extreme effort.

Perfectly identical.

It was possible because of her innate physique and talent.

And that innate physique and talent were still being inherited even now after her resurrection.

“You bitch…! W-What the hell did you just do!”

The bandits, caught off guard by the unexpected attack, tensed up and drew their weapons.

They had thought she was just a beautiful, delicate woman, but her movements suggested she was no ordinary person.

Of course, the Heavenly Demon’s current physical abilities aren’t that exceptional.

She was nothing more than a slightly strong woman who had just grasped a handful of qi.

But even with these physical conditions, if it was Sword Princess’s destructive sword technique utilizing elasticity, it wasn’t difficult to send a hefty man flying.

“Being able to recreate that with this body is only possible because it’s me, though.”

Thinking it was quite a successful attempt, the Heavenly Demon smiled with satisfaction.

But soon she glared at the bandits with an extremely annoyed expression.

“To think I had to use more than one move on small fry like you. What an extremely unpleasant experience.”

“……”

“……”

It was an incredibly arrogant statement, but given what she had just demonstrated, the bandits silently tensed up and glared at her.

But in the end, perhaps because they were men.

“Gulp.”

Their eyes couldn’t help but be drawn to the two enormous mounds on her chest that shook slightly every time she spoke.

In that moment of distraction.

Whoosh!

The Heavenly Demon bent her body backward and then sprang forward quickly like a released bowstring.

Bow-String Snap.

Originally, since taking the name Heavenly Demon, she had never used any movement technique other than the Heavenly Demon Step.

So even while using Bow-String Snap now, she felt quite humiliated.

Compared to the Heavenly Demon Step, which was practically teleportation, this speed was like that of a toddler’s first steps.

But even so, the bandits’ reactions were slow.

“Ugh, urk!”

No, they thought they were slow.

Clang!

The Heavenly Demon’s wooden stick, aiming to send one of them flying using the recoil of the Bow-String Snap.

But that wooden stick was blocked by an even thinner sword.

“Everyone, step back. I’ll handle this.”

The owner of the thin sword was the very bandit the Heavenly Demon had said was the strongest among them.

“Well, well, what a feisty little lady we have here. Looks like I’ll have to teach you some manners, won’t I?”

“Hmph, you think you can defeat me just because you blocked one attack?”

The Heavenly Demon snorted and quickly bent backward.

Then, using that momentum, she executed an upward kick, smashing the man’s chin.

Whack!

“Ugh…!”

But it was an ordinary kick without internal energy behind it.

No matter how much momentum she put into it, it wasn’t enough to break his jaw.

“Heheh, quite a strong kick… Urk?!”

But the impact to the chin meant his brain had been shaken.

No matter how much he protected his body with internal energy, if the brain was properly shaken, it would be difficult to move properly.

Crack!

“Gah…!”

Not missing the moment he staggered, the Heavenly Demon struck the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.

After subduing the remaining one as well, she looked at the four fallen men with a cold smile.

“Hehehe, what a lovely sight. This will be a good boost for my initial internal energy.”

Of course, even her face wearing that cold smile was breathtakingly beautiful.

#

After breaking all the bandits’ limbs, she held them captive and continuously absorbed their life force from the side.

In this way, she was able to accumulate a much larger amount of internal energy compared to when she first broke through, and now she had built up enough internal energy to be considered a third-rate martial artist.

Of course, since all the martial arts she had seen and experienced in her previous life were stored in her head, just considering the potential applications, even a decent second-rate martial artist would hardly dare to compare.

“Still a long way to go.”

That level is not enough.

Her name is the Heavenly Demon.

She was once called the great demon king who covered the sky.

To overturn this world and establish the demonic cult’s dominion once again, she needs even greater power.

Power at her peak… no, beyond her peak.

“There’s also the method of slowly building internal energy through the Demon Absorption Technique… but that takes too long. I need to quickly build up enough internal energy to use the Heavenly Demon Qi Absorption Technique.”

Thanks to her innate physique and the cheating breathing method called the Demon Absorption Technique, her internal energy accumulates at a rate others can’t even imagine, even when she’s standing still.

Moreover, if she becomes able to use the Heavenly Demon Qi Absorption Technique, depending on the opponent, she could fill up more than half a year of internal energy in a single breath.

But to use that incredible Heavenly Demon Qi Absorption Technique requires more than 1 year of internal energy.

To recover to that point, even with an innate physique and genius techniques, it takes more time than one might think.

The key is to shorten that time as much as possible.

The best method is to consume spirit pills.

Excellent spirit pills that increase a large amount of internal energy in a short time.

However, spirit pills are basically very difficult to obtain, or they are managed in utmost secrecy by orthodox sects, making them hard to acquire.

‘Or receive it from someone.’

She remembered hearing that in some orthodox martial arts sects, elders nearing retirement would pass on their internal energy to young experts.

Of course, doing so is extremely inefficient.

Even for an elder who has accumulated an enormous 3 year of internal energy, due to the massive loss during the transfer process, only less than half a year of power remains.

‘But still, half a year of internal energy.’

It didn’t seem like a bad idea to disguise her identity, enter a sect, and inherit the internal energy of old elders.

‘Someone of my caliber could easily become the top young talent of that sect within 5 years anyway.’

Even out of those 5 years, 3 years would be just for building trust, and she thought she could reach the top of any sect in just 2 years.

‘In that time, I’d accumulate some internal energy, and if I receive an elder’s internal energy too… reaching it in 5 years wouldn’t be difficult.’

This seemed more feasible than obtaining spirit pills.

“No, wait. Come to think of it, wouldn’t the most prestigious sects have stockpiles of spirit pills? If I become a recognized expert, I could freely consume those pills!”

The Heavenly Demon laughed heartily, thinking her plan was absolutely brilliant even by her own standards.

It was quite an odd sight to see a young, beautiful woman laughing like an old man.

Of course, there was no one around to see it.

#

Among the loot the bandits had, there happened to be small clothes that fit her body, so she put them on.

The Heavenly Demon could have worn women’s clothes, but feeling somewhat awkward, she chose to wear what appeared to be a young boy’s clothes.

Following the traces left by the bandits, she was able to discover a path frequented by people.

“A broken carriage and dead people… I see, no wonder the weapons seemed to have blood and clothes on them.”

It was clear at a glance that the bandits had attacked a carriage of ordinary people who were traveling.

She made an expression of extreme disgust.

Heavenly Demon Baek Hwi.

Although she had been called things like Demon King and Devil,

she never laid a hand on anyone who wasn’t a martial artist from the Central Plains.

Partly because they weren’t worth killing, and also because she was someone who pursued the absolute ‘martial’.

She was a martial artist to the bone.

That’s why she felt such disgust towards bandits who preyed on worthless ordinary people who hadn’t learned martial arts.

“I did well to kill them slowly.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded, very satisfied with having drained their life force gradually to kill them.

At that moment, the sound of other carriages rattling in the distance reached her ears.

And there were quite a few of them.

It seemed like several were coming in a line.

‘A merchant caravan?’

As she had expected, she could see several carts and carriages of a merchant group approaching from afar.

Upon confirming this, the Heavenly Demon hurriedly ran to the corpses of the dead people and began smearing blood all over her body.

She also disheveled her clothes here and there, making herself look like someone who had just been assaulted.

After that, with an extremely sorrowful and urgent expression, she ran towards the merchant caravan, shouting:

“P-please save me! My family was all killed, and I barely escaped from being violated by the bandits…!!”

“Oh, my goodness?! There’s a blood-covered woman over there…!”

“There’s also a carriage that looks like it’s been attacked! It seems they were ambushed by bandits!”

Heavenly Demon Baek Hwi.

He… no, she was.

A true talent who could even act if necessary.