The Supreme Warrior or the Ultimate Martial Artist of the World.
These are all epithets that follow me.
Of course, there are a few more.
Murderer, Great Evil.
And the Public Enemy of the Martial World.
Why is someone called the Supreme Warrior branded a murderer and marked as the public enemy of the martial world?
Because I am the Heavenly Demon.
An existence that should disappear from the Central Plains Martial World, an existence that must be killed.
That’s exactly who I am, Baek Yoo-jin.
In fact, I never intended to become the Heavenly Demon from the beginning, nor was I related to the Demon Cult, and neither were my parents related to it.
‘But why did I become the Heavenly Demon?’
Well.
There are several reasons, but it probably started with a disciple from the Hwasan sect who first dueled with me.
A disciple of Hwasan, who strutted around bullying the weak and harassing women.
At that time, I knocked him down with just the basic martial arts I learned from a third-rate warrior, and this guy suddenly spread rumors that I had learned demonic martial arts,
‘without even considering his own weakness.’
And because of this guy, many started chasing after me.
Of course, not enough to mobilize an entire sect, just a few people?
But strangely, they all lost to me.
Whether I was strong or the martial arts I learned from the third-rate warrior were tremendous, everyone from the Hwasan sect to the Shaolin temple, the Wudang sect, and the Nangong family lost to me.
Eventually, I found myself targeted by the orthodox factions.
‘They misunderstand and attack only to lose miserably; how petty.’
Thus, I was chased by the Jeomchang sect and fell off a cliff.
“Ah, at that moment, I really thought, ‘Is this how I’m going to die in vain?'”
I barely survived and moved to a cave at the edge of the cliff where I found it.
The Heavenly Divine Skill of Heavenly Demon Galcheon-eok, which turned the martial world upside down 500 years ago.
‘Isn’t this too much? Nearly killed for being mistaken for a member of the Demon Cult, and now they’re practically telling me to openly become the Heavenly Demon?’
Seeing the Heavenly Divine Skill, I got angry all over again.
These orthodox guys think they lost because they are weak and try to kill an innocent person by accusing him of being a demon.
So I made up my mind.
If both the heavens and the Central Plains Martial World think of me as a demon,
‘I might as well really become the Heavenly Demon.’
That’s how I spent 10 years in that cave learning the Heavenly Divine Skill.
In the cave, there were wall-nut elixirs and other foods, and a well, so I didn’t starve, and the person who made the cave must have stolen treasures from Shaolin, including the Great Restoration Elixir, Qingcheng Essence Oil, and the Thousand-Year Polygonum.
The Heavenly Divine Skill included separate internal cultivation techniques, so utilizing the energy of miraculous medicines was no issue.
Additionally, I later came to realize that my body was of the “Boneless Physique,” the best type for learning martial arts.
A body that learns ten times from being taught just once.
‘No wonder.’
It felt odd that I could defeat warriors from major sects with just the martial arts I learned from a mere third-rate warrior.
Thus, in a very short period, I acquired the Heavenly Divine Skill and an extraordinary amount of internal energy exceeding several decades.
And then, back into the martial world.
In the end, I drew my sword against the orthodox factions that attacked me and slaughtered them.
For 20 years.
The bodies of the orthodox faction warriors piled higher than mountains, and my evil deeds accumulated as well.
In the meantime, thanks to the Martial Alliance, the Demon Cult, which had nothing to do with me, has withered away, right?
Of course, I don’t feel sorry for the Demon Cult.
Unlike the Demon Cult, which kills children, women, and even the elderly, I only killed those who attacked me. I never killed innocent children, women, or ordinary people who were not martial artists.
That’s how I got to this point.
***
“It’s been a long time chasing you.”
Cling.
In front of the Heavenly Demon, five sect leaders from the major sects drew their swords, emanating killing intent.
All these sect leaders gathered to try and kill just one man.
‘How did my life end up like this?’
Would it have been different if he had lost to that Hwasan sect disciple he fought long ago?
He had only killed those who attacked him, but now it seems the entire martial world wants him dead.
‘I’m tired.’
The Heavenly Demon sighed as he looked at the cloud-filled sky.
Such a futile life.
Of course, killing the five sect leaders in front of him is not a problem.
Thanks to the Heavenly Divine Skill, he had already reached the realm of Transcendence.
All the sect leaders in front of him are in the Transformation realm, below him.
Of course, in the martial world, outcomes aren’t solely determined by one’s realm, but he had already fought other major sect leaders, so these will be no different.
However, the Heavenly Demon no longer wanted to fight.
He was mentally exhausted and longed for an ordinary life.
‘Would they accept an apology?’
The Heavenly Demon had this absurd thought and chuckled to himself.
After all, to them, he was nothing less than a nemesis, not something to be settled with a mere apology.
“I will kill you and restore peace to the martial world.”
Thud Thud.
The ground trembled.
Behind the five sect leaders, numerous warriors, and the sect leaders themselves, rapidly approached him.
Swoosh.
The Heavenly Demon watched them approach, sighed deeply, and spread his arms wide.
And then…
Whoosh!
The swords of the five sect leaders plunged into the body of the Heavenly Demon.
“?! “
“This… What is this?!”
The sect leaders of Hwasan and Mudang, disbelieving, looked at the Heavenly Demon as he spat blood.
What was this situation?
Instead of repelling them with his powerful strength as usual, he just stood there.
Drip.
The Heavenly Demon spat blood and gazed numbly at the sky.
The resentful glares of those who wished him dead, the wrongful rumors that emerged even when he just breathed.
It all exhausted him.
He didn’t even care about losing his transcendent status anymore.
Everything just tired him out.
Others might not understand him.
They could say his spirit is weak.
But he wanted to ask them,
‘If someone you don’t know curses you, even wishing death upon you, can you just laugh it off? For decades?’
Surely, no one could answer.
Perhaps only a demon, gone mad, could endure it.
The demons are already mad, so they won’t care about curses or insults.
But he was not one of them.
Since he was not a demon, it was difficult to endure venomous insults and bloodshot curses.
No.
Rather, it was remarkable that he had endured for decades.
Swoosh.
Slide.
Thud.
As the sect leaders hesitated and pulled out the sword they had thrust into the body of the Heavenly Demon, he collapsed forward right where he stood.
‘All of them looking bewildered, how amusing…’
The Heavenly Demon burst into laughter inside as he watched the sect leaders look at each other in confusion.
‘Isn’t it truly vain? Isn’t it utterly hollow? All this while, you just grind your teeth and vowed revenge, and yet here I am, dying in an instant.’
The Heavenly Demon silently shouted these unheard words to the sect leaders, feeling the cold of the earth rising up through his body.
‘If there is another life…’
I will not live like this.
I will be the object of envy and live respected by all.
‘Let’s become a great person, not a villain, in history.’
The Heavenly Demon sighed with regret and slowly closed his eyes.
***
‘Umm…’
In a quite spacious cabin, a young child furrowed his brow and got up.
‘I am… alive… huh?’
The young child, clutching his throbbing head, mumbled incomprehensible words, then suddenly opened his eyes wide as he looked at his small hands.
‘This… what is this…’
The identity of the young child was none other than Baek Yoo-jin, the Heavenly Demon.
‘Have I been reincarnated?’
But that seemed strange.
He was not a newborn, his memories were intact, and moreover, he was in a building he had never seen before, wearing clothes he had never worn.
Swipe.
Yoo-jin’s eyes shook wildly as he looked at his face in the mirror hung nearby.
Blonde hair and green eyes.
And still not quite a youth, but a boy’s face.
It was a completely unfamiliar face.
Rub, rub.
Yoo-jin touched and pinched his face in the mirror.
‘It’s not a dream…?’
Then what on earth is this?
‘Could it be…?!’
Yoo-jin, looking in the mirror, looked around and frowned.
‘Yes, it must be an illusion!’
Flutter.
Yoo-jin thought it was an illusion and tried to release energy by moving his arm.
‘Uh…?’
However, he realized there was no internal energy inside his body, and his face went blank again.
No matter the illusion, it couldn’t remove his internal energy.
It could make him think he had none, but he was a master of a certain realm.
He was not someone who could be affected by such illusions.
‘Then it means this isn’t an illusion…Ouch.’
Throb.
Yoo-jin thought deeply about his current situation and frowned as pain shot up from his left wrist.
Swipe.
Slide.
‘My wrist is cut.’
Yoo-jin looked at the wound on his body and frowned.
His left wrist was slashed, and it was so deep that it had reached the artery, causing blood to flow.
Thump. Drip. Thump.
Yoo-jin quickly performed acupuncture to stop the bleeding from his wrist.
Swipe, swipe.
Of course, since acupuncture required internal energy for perfect execution, in this situation he could not completely stop the bleeding but only reduce it as much as possible by wrapping his wrist with a bandage nearby.
‘Sigh… What on earth has happened…?’
Yoo-jin glanced around the cabin and tilted his head when he noticed a strange pattern drawn with blood under his feet.
“What kind of pattern is this?”
Yoo-jin was curious about the pattern he was seeing for the first time.
He had eliminated the Blood Sect, which used such blood-drawn formations, but the pattern he was now seeing was unfamiliar to him.
“This place has been erased.”
Yoo-jin looked at a place within the regularly drawn pattern that awkwardly broke off.
Having seen many such patterns during battles with the Blood Sect, he didn’t know what specific pattern this was, but he could vaguely make out its rules.
“It must have been erased when this body fell on its knees.”
Press.
Swipe. Swipe.
Thinking that the pattern before him might be the cause of his current situation, Yoo-jin tried connecting the pattern that was erased with the blood seeping from his wrist.
Roar.
“Indeed.”
Then, the pattern covering the cabin floor began to emit a red light.
Eventually.
Rumble.
“…?!”
Something huge emerged from the pattern on the floor, and Yoo-jin’s brow furrowed.
He had thought he could break the formation and return things to normal or that he was inside a formation, but instead, he had summoned something.
Roar!
Eventually, something escaped completely from the pattern and appeared as a giant body, breaking the cabin.
“Could it be…”
Yoo-jin stared wide-eyed and swallowed a hollow breath.
“One of the Four Guardians, the White Tiger, from Mount Kunlun.Why…?”
It was indeed the White Tiger, a divine beast and one of the Four Guardians reputed to protect Mount Kunlun, a place said to be inhabited by immortals.
He had only heard of the Four Guardians through paintings and rumors.
Originally, the Kunlun Sect among the Nine Martial Factions admired the legendary Mount Kunlun and was formed in its honor, though they had no actual ties to Mount Kunlun.
That’s why even the Kunlun Sect had never really seen an immortal or one of the Four Guardians, yet here was the White Tiger before him.
“Purr, where is this place?”
The White Tiger shook its giant body and looked around the unfamiliar scenery.
The spacious cabin looked almost like a chicken coop due to the White Tiger’s size.
“This… this can’t be.”
Swipe. Swipe.
Yoo-jin stamped his foot over various parts of the pattern drawn beneath him.
If this pattern really was summoning the Guardian Gods, then the right thing to do was to erase the pattern to stop the summoning.
“Hmm? You are…”
The White Tiger, sensing a presence, looked down and squinted at Yoo-jin.
***
“Child, who are you?”
The White Tiger spoke to Yoo-jin below with a thunderous voice.
“I am Heaven… Urgh.”
Yoo-jin naturally started to introduce himself as Heavenly demon but staggered as a sudden headache surged.
“This… what is this…?”
The source of the headache was the memories of the body Yoo-jin had entered.
Yoo-jin felt severe pain as memories seemed to force their way into his head.
Eventually, as all the memories entered Yoo-jin’s mind, he looked dazed and stared at the floor.
“I asked who you are.”
Rumble.
Frustrated by Yoo-jin’s pause in responding, the White Tiger moved to get up.
“Stop, the house will collapse.”
Suddenly.
Yoo-jin warned the moving White Tiger that the house would collapse, and the White Tiger abruptly stopped.
“If… if these memories are correct…”
Yoo-jin, having stopped the White Tiger, picked up a booklet lying on the floor and looked at it.
Although the characters were unfamiliar, Yoo-jin was able to read them thanks to the memories of the body he was in, and he realized what the body had been trying to do before he entered it.
“He tried to summon the soul of a magician powerful enough to leave a name in history…”
Furthermore, the pattern drawn on the floor was a magic circle, and the magic bound within it was meant to summon souls and spirits.
“Instead of the magician’s soul, it was my soul that was summoned. And instead of a spirit, one of the Four Guardians was summoned…”
Enduring the pain, Yoo-jin, armed with the memories of the body he had gained, suddenly felt his legs weaken as he grasped the entirety of the situation.
He had lived through many situations, but he had never imagined that he would end up in another world.
“This place is called Seifran… and the artery of this body was severed because I couldn’t control the power…?”
Due to this, the young child who was the original owner of the body died from excessive bleeding.
At the same time, the soul of Heavenly Demon had seeped into the body.
Fortunately, he had now performed acupressure to stop the bleeding, but the original owner of the body did not know the technique and hadn’t expected to die.
“Ha…?”
Yoo-jin closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
Although he could understand the situation logically, it was hard for him to accept it emotionally.
Then.
Roar.
The giant White Tiger that had burst out of the cabin suddenly emitted a blue light and began to shrink in size.
“Repeat what you just said. What is a magician, and what is a spirit?”
“Heh…”
Yoo-jin chuckled as he saw the now very small White Tiger before him.
The giant White Tiger had suddenly turned into a very small cat.
“A cat with white patterns… this is indeed a rare sight.”
He had seen civets and cats before, but this was his first time seeing a cat with white stripes.
“Did one of the Four Guardians, who are supposed to protect Mount Kunlun, end up here by accident?”
“Hmm? You… you are indeed a martial artist.”
“Did you just realize that? You should have noticed when I mentioned the Four Guardians.”
“I was eating when suddenly light burst out from beneath my feet, and I fell into the light. And when I finally escaped from that space, I found myself here.”
…
Yoo-jin nodded as he listened to the White Tiger’s story.
It was natural for him to be summoned if even the divine beasts were forcibly summoned.
However, unlike himself, who had closed his eyes and found himself here when he opened them, the White Tiger had fallen into some kind of space.
“I am Heavenly Demon.”
“Hmm?!”
The White Tiger twitched its eyebrows at Heavenly Demon’s words.
“You… you’re the murderous demon, Heavenly Demon?”
“Do you know me?”
Yoo-jin felt puzzled by the White Tiger’s reaction and asked a question.
It seemed like the White Tiger knew him, but he had never met the White Tiger before.
He had never even been near Mount Kunlun, where rumors said it was located, nor had he seen any of the Four Guardians.
How could the White Tiger possibly know him?
“Did you call me to this place?”
“No, it was this body.”
Shake shake.
Yoo-jin shook his arm in response to the White Tiger’s question.
It made sense that the White Tiger, lacking the memories of the body like himself, would not know where it was or what it had experienced.
Eventually, Yoo-jin calmed the White Tiger and shared all the information he knew with it.
“So… so this place is…”
“Yes, this isn’t the Central Plains martial world; it’s a place called Seifran. We were forcibly brought here by magic.”
The White Tiger looked at the void with an expression of disbelief.
How could it believe it?
It was hard enough to believe with the memories of the body, let alone for a divine beast that had experienced such an event.
“Then… then redraw that magic… magic circle!”
The White Tiger, startled, stuttered as it pointed to the magic circle Yoo-jin had described.
If it truly was summoned through a magic circle as Yoo-jin said, couldn’t redrawing the magic circle take them back?
Swipe. Swipe.
Reluctantly, Yoo-jin followed the White Tiger’s suggestion, dabbing his finger with blood to reconnect the magic circle he had erased.
However, there was no reaction now.
“Why is there no reaction?”
“What do you want me to do about it? I was dragged here just like you.”
Sigh.
The White Tiger sighed deeply with its small body and shook its head, while Yoo-jin, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
He had redrawn the magic circle as the White Tiger suggested, but he had been worried that another Guardian or some other being might appear.
“That small body summoned me and you…”
“This child had lived a pitiful life only to die like this.”
Yoo-jin looked at his hands, feeling sorry for the original owner of the body.
His body belonged to the youngest son of Seifran’s greatest magical family, the Bediya family.
Yet, even at the age of 15, he was unable to form even a 1st circle and was despised and ignored within his family.
Typically, one would form the 1st circle by age 8, and at the latest by 11, but he had failed to do so.
Because of this, he was ostracized within his family and lived alone in this remote cabin far from the main family home.
Moreover, the original owner of the body had resorted to forbidden summoning magic using his own blood as a medium.
“A murderer feeling sorry for someone, that’s really funny.”
“You, a little cat, have no idea what kind of life I’ve lived.”
Yoo-jin casually countered the White Tiger’s remarks.
Even though he was known as a murderer, his heart had not turned evil.
“What?! A… a cat?!”
The White Tiger bristled its tail and growled in response to Yoo-jin’s words.
If it had been its original size, it might have been frightening, but now, as a small cat, it was more cute than scary.
“Of course, it would be scary if it returned to its original form.”
Ignoring the growling White Tiger, Yoo-jin walked towards a mirror.
Blond hair and pale green eyes.
His name was Eugene Bediya, the youngest son of the magical Bediya family.
“What are you going to do?”
“Do about what?”
Yoo-jin turned around to the White Tiger’s voice coming from behind him.
“Is there no way to go back? You’d want to go back, wouldn’t you?”
Yoo-jin looked out the window.
“Go back…?”
The world of the Central Plains martial arts where he was born and raised.
“I am not going back.”
“What?! Why not?”
“I am already dead by the hands of the Martial Alliance.”
“You died?”
The White Tiger was shocked to hear this new information.
That the infamous Heavenly Demon was dead?
Sigh…
Yoo-jin sighed deeply and sat down at the table, then shared his life story and the choices he made in the end.
There was nothing special to tell—just about learning Heavenly Killing Arts, why he became Heavenly Demon, and why he chose death.
“Hmm… this is a new story.”
The White Tiger showed a reaction of fascination after hearing all of Yoo-jin’s words.
Heavenly Demon’s notoriety had reached even Mount Kunlun.
He was an incredibly strong fighter who wouldn’t die even if all the leaders of the Nine Martial Factions attacked him, a murderer who killed every notable being he encountered.
And there were tales of him wiping out even the innocent.
However, hearing the story directly from Heavenly Demon himself, the information was quite different from what the White Tiger had heard.
Of course, it was true he had killed many warriors, but according to Heavenly Demon, he had only killed those who attacked him.
“It’s hard to believe everything, but the truth seems to emanate from your words.”
Though Heavenly Demon might be defending himself with lies, who was the White Tiger to judge?
As one of the Four Guardian Spirits, he could somewhat discern whether someone was lying or not.
“So you’re not going back?”
“Yes, I will start a new life here.”
If this was a new opportunity given to him, he wouldn’t live as he had before.
How lonely and isolated had his life been?
Even now, although he had been ousted from his family for not being able to form even a 1st circle, he actually planned to relearn martial arts rather than magic.
“From now on, instead of being a murderer, I’ll become a hero.”
Yoo-jin muttered to himself as he looked at his hands.
The life the original owner of the body had hoped for: to stand at the pinnacle in the world of Seifran, respected and admired by many.
That was the body’s wish.
And it suited the new life goals of Heavenly Demon as well.
If in his previous life he received glares wishing for his death as a murderer, in this life, he wanted to receive respect and admiration.
This was Yoo-jin’s goal.
“Once you make up your mind, everything falls into place.”
Yoo-jin suddenly rose from his chair and walked to the wardrobe.
Thanks to the memories of the body, he had inherited all memories and knowledge, so there was no problem in finding things or living in this world.
“By the way, this body’s name was Eugene…”
His original name was Baek Yoo-jin, and his name in Seifran was also Eugene.
Was it a coincidence?
Was it a coincidence that his name in the Central Plains, Yoo-jin (流進), and the name of the possessed body, Eugene, sounded the same?
Of course, having the same name felt less strange.
If it had been a different name, others might call him, and he might not respond immediately, but since both Yoo-jin (流) and Eugene are the same, he could respond right away.
“Hey, Yoo-jin (流進). Then what about me?”
“Eugene.”
“What?”
“My name from now on is not Yoo-jin (流進) but Eugene. Eugene Bediya.”
“Yoo-jin or Eugene, it’s all the same… Anyway, Eugene. Then what about me?”
The White Tiger looked at Eugene with a dazed expression.
It’s great that Yoo-jin is starting a new life in the world of Seifran.
He could support that.
But what about himself?
“How about you live here too?”
“You call that a solution!”
The White Tiger snapped at Eugene’s suggestion.
“Is it okay for a Guardian to disappear?”
“If a Guardian dies or disappears, a new one will take its place, but…”
“Then isn’t that settled?”
Even so, how could he just step down from being a Guardian without actually dying?
“With this body, there’s nothing I can do.”
Not only can he not form a 1st circle, he also lacks mana and his original internal energy.
That’s why even if the White Tiger wanted to return, there was nothing Eugene could do to help.
“If you really want to go back, help me.”
“Help you?”
“Yes.”
Once he regained some of his strength, there might be a way.
Cliche Novel 