Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
The servants and martial artists affiliated with the Heavenly Demon Pavilion swallowed nervously.
Boom!!
Szzzzzzzz!!!
It was due to the ominous momentum of Wi Seoryeon, who kicked open the door of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
The ferocity of her Black Dragon Qi, which revealed itself in all directions, reflected her fury.
The sight of Wi Seoryeon walking towards Wi Ji-cheon resembled an assault more than a mere visit.
Wi Seoryeon’s feet came to a stop right in front of Wi Ji-cheon.
“What does this sudden change of heart mean?”
Despite Wi Seoryeon’s accusation, Wi Ji-cheon showed no reaction. Frustrated by his attitude, Wi Seoryeon shouted.
“It hasn’t even been a single moment since you stated that you would leave the matter of Ho Cheon-an to me! So why have you permitted the transmission of the Heavenly Demon Arts!”
“A moment ago, I intended to do just that.”
Wi Seoryeon’s face twisted.
She considered Ho Cheon-an as a friend but also as a rival and a guest. Therefore, she believed it was correct to handle matters regarding him, so she sought permission from Wi Ji-cheon.
Yet, in that brief time, something changed, and Wi Ji-cheon suddenly intervened.
Wi Ji-cheon thought as he looked at Wi Seoryeon’s face, tinged with anger, doubt, and confusion.
What was the reason for the bond formed with Ho Cheon-an?
It was due to the Unknown that he had exchanged moves with at that time, even without knowing his name.
What exactly was the Unknown?
It was a boundless illusion, as real as possible, crafted through a refined formation.
Thus, the memory of that one exchange became even more deeply embedded in Wi Ji-cheon’s mind.
He had finally encountered someone who could be considered his worthy opponent.
Not someone alive, but merely an illusion that would fade away after a single exchange of moves at this very moment.
It was indeed strange that he would have no lingering feelings about it.
He operated the Brain Crystal embedded in his palm, like a child savoring candy, soothing his regrets as he handled the Brain Crystal. Just then, Wi Seoryeon kidnapped Ho Cheon-an to the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Now face-to-face with Ho Cheon-an, Wi Ji-cheon thought, ‘He looks just like him.’
As he observed Ho Cheon-an brought by Wi Seoryeon, it was clear that rather than being the disciple of the Unknown, he appeared to be his blood relative.
Wi Ji-cheon glanced at the Brain Crystal embedded in his palm.
The essence that calmed his boredom couldn’t last forever. Perhaps gifting this Brain Crystal to him wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Wi Ji-cheon wanted to provide some sort of return to the Unknown, who had left him a gift.
However, he had no intention of recklessly handing over the Brain Crystal to Ho Cheon-an.
The Brain Crystal contained the essence of the martial wisdom realized by the Unknown.
Even though Ho Cheon-an had learned the same martial arts as the Unknown, transmitting the Brain Crystal meant forcibly implanting the essence learned by another into his body, so Wi Ji-cheon had to ensure that Ho Cheon-an was capable of holding it.
Thus, Wi Ji-cheon decided to test Ho Cheon-an.
If he were to grant the essence, what would be the price?
Ho Cheon-an answered.
“Gambling.”
Through the means of the gamble proposed by Ho Cheon-an, Wi Ji-cheon was liberated from his obsession with martial prowess and gained a broader perspective on the world.
When he realized that fact, Wi Ji-cheon thought to himself.
Both the Unknown and Ho Cheon-an had expanded his horizons after all.
Could it be true that blood doesn’t lie?
True to being the bloodline of the only one in the world with the potential to become a worthy opponent of the Heavenly Demon, Ho Cheon-an’s talent was exceptional, and Wi Ji-cheon acknowledged that he could grant him the Brain Crystal.
And he resolved to watch over Ho Cheon-an, now recognized as both his daughter’s friend and a rival.
That was why he allowed Jeong Cheol’s final moments to be witnessed and mediated when he met the Blood Sect’s warriors.
Even today, he watched from a distance while assigning the task of dealing with Ho Cheon-an to Wi Seoryeon.
“Then, who are you standing in front of me now?”
However, then he heard something peculiar.
“I am a boy seeking revenge against the Blood Ancestor who harmed my grandfather and parents, and a martial artist wishing for the Heavenly Demon Sect to participate in my vengeance.”
At those words, Wi Ji-cheon’s mind became tangled.
What does this mean?
The Blood Ancestor harmed Ho Cheon-an’s parents and grandfather?
So Ho Cheon-an wasn’t a child or grandchild of the Unknown?
Ho Cheon-an called himself a boy seeking revenge. This meant he lost his grandfather and parents to the Blood Ancestor as a child.
If the Unknown was Ho Cheon-an’s grandfather or child, it would be impossible.
The Unknown was the one who could deploy unparalleled martial arts and also become the Heavenly Demon’s worthy opponent.
Let’s say the Blood Ancestor relied on traps and fortune to eliminate such a figure.
Could Ho Cheon-an have traversed the world unscathed?
Who would leave behind the remnants of such profound martial arts and try to navigate the world?
No matter how powerful an Entity one might be, it would be normal to eliminate them relentlessly.
With that thought, Wi Ji-cheon felt something odd.
Though he had no idea what complex history lay behind Ho Cheon-an’s family, if the refined Brain Arts he had learned were passed down in his family…
Then surely, the Blood Ancestor would see Ho Cheon-an as a potential major obstacle in the future, right?
If that were the case, were Ho Cheon-an and the Unknown not connected by blood, but rather just a master-disciple relationship?
Then how could Ho Cheon-an be so eerily similar to the Unknown, and how could he fully absorb the Brain Crystal despite being merely in the Peak Stage?
Contradiction.
All assumptions became filled with contradictions.
In Wi Ji-cheon’s confused mind, one assumption blossomed.
It was the intuition of someone who had once grasped the truths of the world after all logic had crumbled.
Though the assumption whispered to him was absurd, it also had the potential to resolve all contradictions.
Despite not being exchanged through martial arts, Ho Cheon-an and the Unknown had learned the same martial arts, and it was the only way to explain how alike they were and how Ho Cheon-an could accept the Unknown’s Brain Crystal.
‘Unknown, are you Ho Cheon-an from the future?’
The image of Jeong Cheol popped into Wi Ji-cheon’s mind.
Jeong Cheol, who had suddenly appeared claiming to be an absolute expert, had sought out the Demon Sect. Looking back, it was evident that Jeong Cheol had ambushed Ho Cheon-an’s group but was surely obstructed by the Unknown.
How strange.
The formation through which the Unknown, connected to Ho Cheon-an, could appear was within the territory of Odokmun, and at that precise moment, when Jeong Cheol’s group could hardly match Ho Cheon-an’s force, the Unknown appeared to save him.
Could such events happen purely by chance?
It was something that couldn’t occur unless everything was known and prepared.
Wi Ji-cheon became convinced that the Unknown was indeed Ho Cheon-an.
Although it was possible he was a distant descendant of Ho Cheon-an, upon realizing the answer, it all made perfect sense.
The move he left in Wi Ji-cheon’s hand expanded his martial horizons.
And Ho Cheon-an expanded Wi Ji-cheon’s vision through the means of gambling.
Wi Ji-cheon had lived his life, deeply immersed in loneliness, without ever finding someone who could break him out of that frame.
Yet suddenly, two individuals capable of enlightening him had appeared.
‘Is it truly something that could happen?’
Wi Ji-cheon clenched his fist.
An opponent he could never see again, who had left behind a single gift, was now standing at the main gate of Black Dragon Castle.
He could hear the words of that opponent, Ho Cheon-an.
“I shall challenge the transmission of the Heavenly Demon Arts.”
At those words, Wi Ji-cheon’s heart raced faster than ever.
“And thus, shall I return the original of my Heavenly Demon Arts.”
Having heard that, Wi Ji-cheon unknowingly opened his mouth.
[I allow it.]
“Father! Please make an excuse! Tell me the reason for this change of heart!”
Wi Ji-cheon snapped out of his thoughts.
He completely understood Wi Seoryeon’s anger. She had also intended for Ho Cheon-an to be the one to share martial arts with her, and thus sought Wi Ji-cheon’s permission to adjust Ho Cheon-an’s position. This, however, derailed Wi Ji-cheon’s plans entirely.
However.
Wi Ji-cheon did not want to yield his rival, the ‘Unknown’ either.
“Ho Cheon-an knows the origins and doctrines of the Heavenly Demon Arts. Since such a person has requested the transmission, I have no choice but to accept.”
“I could have persuaded you! If only you hadn’t intervened, Father!”
Wi Seoryeon raised her voice in frustration as she looked into Wi Ji-cheon’s inscrutable eyes.
“He is my friend and my rival! Haven’t you acknowledged that!”
And also my rival.
Wi Ji-cheon thought that way and closed his eyes. His unmistakable refusal to engage in dialogue served to further infuriate Wi Seoryeon.
“I thought I had barely come to understand you, Father, but it seems I was mistaken. How pleasing it is to see you enjoying your solitude while disregarding the person in front of you.”
Though Wi Seoryeon was furious, she knew that even if she beat Wi Ji-cheon here, nothing would change.
The name of the Heavenly Demon had already fallen.
With tightly clenched fists, Wi Seoryeon trembled and, glancing at the closed eyes of Wi Ji-cheon, said,
“I will never forget this event.”
Wi Seoryeon’s fury was manifested in a storm of Black Dragon Qi. Wrapped in such Qi, she stormed out of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
After Wi Seoryeon left, Wi Ji-cheon opened his eyes and sighed softly.
“I’m sorry.”
Even if Ho Cheon-an was the Unknown…
Even so, Wi Ji-cheon could never face the Unknown again.
“Yet Seoryeon, you are a peer living in the same era as Ho Cheon-an. You will have countless opportunities to build a friendship with him and to compete in martial arts.”
Years could pass, and even if Ho Cheon-an developed the same level of prowess as the Unknown, would Wi Ji-cheon simply remain idle?
It was impossible to decisively determine victory against the Unknown, and Wi Ji-cheon knew this well.
However.
Even so, Ho Cheon-an was the Unknown.
To meet a rival he had thought he could never see again, now, Wi Ji-cheon couldn’t suppress his desire to at least try to compete indirectly.
“Have you overcome the Black Dragon to become a Heavenly Demon?”
Then could Ho Cheon-an overcome the Black Dragon as well?
Could he truly possess the potential to be his worthy adversary?
To confirm that fact, he wished to place Ho Cheon-an on the very same trial of the Heavenly Demon Arts and witness the outcome.
That was why Wi Ji-cheon reversed even his words to Wi Seoryeon and permitted the succession of the Heavenly Demon Arts.
“Will you also become a Heavenly Demon and gain equal qualification with me?”
Or, as he declared, would he restore the ‘original’ of the Heavenly Demon Arts, which none had achieved before?
“I look forward to seeing what results you will produce.”
Wi Ji-cheon clenched his fist tightly.
Though he was unaware, a deep smile emerged on Wi Ji-cheon’s face.
