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Chapter 636: White

Flame burst—!

Surrounded by flames, I floated in the void.

The cold air brushed against my cheeks as I scanned the increasingly darkening sky.

‘The snow has stopped.’

Though it had turned from snow to rain.

At any rate, what was falling from the sky had ceased.

‘Thanks to that, my vision has cleared up.’

The visibility that had been obscured by the blizzard was improving, and I felt a little relief.

Only.

‘The chill has deepened.’

It seemed the cold blowing from the North Sea had intensified.

The reason was likely.

I glanced down at where the chill had originated.

‘The Ice Spirit’s destruction…’

The Ice Spirit, which had been blocking the bitter cold, had shattered.

That must have been the cause.

‘Honestly, the reason for that was thoroughly foul.’

To provide justification for forcibly sucking the life force from my bloodline.

It was to devour their life force; it was precisely why the Ice Spirit existed.

It might have been better for it to have shattered.

‘But the influence starts immediately after it breaks.’

With the Ice Spirit of the North Sea gone, the cold was already affecting it.

Still, it seemed the role it had played was genuine, as the chill gradually spread through the North Sea.

What’s more, the speed at which it was spreading was considerably fast.

‘If I can feel it already like this.’

In no time at all, the entirety of the North Sea could freeze solid.

‘Tsk.’

Damn it.

Nothing ever goes smoothly.

Well, of course.

“My life has always been like this.”

Not that it’s just my life anymore, I suppose.

Heh heh.

Trying to laugh at this frustrating situation, my thoughts drifted elsewhere.

‘This isn’t the time to be thinking like that.’

I knew it was merely escapism.

“What the hell is going on—!”

“An enemy ambush!”

“Report to the Great General immediately—!”

The situation had been so wrecked that in the end, even the forces in the palace had grasped the scenario.

Noise echoed from below.

‘No, they’ve only just realized it.’

It was late, very late to come to such a realization.

While the palace was falling apart, not a single reinforcement had arrived, and now that they finally noticed, it was simply—

‘An issue created as power shifted over here.’

The power that had been spreading around the palace had vanished, resulting in the problem.

‘…Hmph.’

I frowned, feeling the new imprint inscribed upon my soul.

The power that had flowed from the demon had been twofold.

Currently, I held onto just one.

That was due to having passed the regeneration part to Woo Hyeok.

‘…’

I frowned at the recollection.

Was I regretting it? Of course, there was that as well. How could I not feel regret?

It’s not just anything—it’s regenerative power.

It would be a crime not to feel regret for having the ability to heal even after being beaten and stabbed.

But the reason went beyond that.

What I had realized amidst all of this was the problem.

The fact that I could transfer power to him.

That was the biggest issue. No ifs, ands, or buts.

‘…The Heavenly Demon used to do that.’

In the past, it resembled what the Heavenly Demon had done to the demons.

The baptism given to several demons in the name of a special ability.

Most notably, my Demonic Absorption Technique was one such case. The early demons’ special abilities were similar.

‘Thinking back on it now, it’s bizarre.’

Not only facilitating their demonization, but also granting them unknown powers under the guise of baptism.

Up until now, I had simply brushed it off because of the bizarre existence of the Heavenly Demon.

Yet, it couldn’t help but be a strange matter.

What exactly is the Heavenly Demon, and how could such things be possible?

The acts of the Heavenly Demon that were referred to as baptism were possibly—

‘…Did it feel like passing power as I do?’

If that were the case, the Heavenly Demon should hold numerous powers in its grasp.

Yet aside from that, the greatest enigma was.

‘…How did they transfer it?’

If it’s a power, how on earth did it get transferred?

Powers were usually derived from great potential or ability.

Yet, abilities could be granted by the Heavenly Demon through baptism.

‘Can powers and abilities be considered different things?’

They merely had similar vibes but could they really be classified entirely differently?

‘If so, then how was I able to pass on power?’

I was confronted with another dilemma.

When I transferred power to save Woo Hyeok, I learned several facts.

First.

‘Using demon energy to transfer power.’

To revive him, I must pass the regenerative power again.

Recollecting this, I tried to inject it once more.

This reflection was based on memories from the time the Heavenly Demon conducted baptisms.

Right after I gained the ability to turn others into demons.

For a long time, I had thought about it in the back of my mind.

Wasn’t I gradually becoming able to do what she could?

If that’s true, it wouldn’t be mere coincidence.

In fact, it was something I had already known.

The current flow of events felt as if I was being nudged to replace the Heavenly Demon.

‘…Setting aside the relationship between powers and abilities.’

The second piece of knowledge I uncovered.

‘Dragons can also be turned into demons.’

Perhaps it was due to the energy fed to them by the demon, but Woo Hyeok’s physical form was evidently that of a dragon.

This appeared to be maintained even if the demon had disappeared.

That body of Woo Hyeok’s, I.

‘Turned him into a demon.’

I injected demon energy to corrupt him.

And I flowed the power within him.

Fortunately, it seemed to be a success in the end, but unease lingered within.

The reason being.

‘To inject power using demon energy, one must inevitably corrupt.’

Moreover.

The reason I was able to transfer power was simply.

‘…Because of the Demonic Absorption Technique.’

The martial arts I possessed, as well as the Heavenly Demon’s ability.

Demonic Absorption Technique.

That was the reason I could corrupt my opponent and pass on power.

Though stealing power was an act of greed, the act of giving it to someone else was using the strength of the Demonic Absorption Technique.

‘What kind of twisted situation is this?’

It wasn’t just limited to sucking energy from a demon stone like in my previous life.

Not only am I changing my opponent into a demon, but also passing on power was the reason for all of it.

‘…This is truly.’

Isn’t this the very power the Heavenly Demon wielded?

It was a confounding scenario.

If it were originally possible, perhaps it would be excusable, but these were things I couldn’t do in my past life.

Hence, I devised a hypothesis.

‘Whether I can transfer power using the Demonic Absorption Technique or not.’

Was it because the opponent was a dragon that I could transfer the power?

Or was it that they had first become a demon before being a dragon that made it transferable?

And.

‘…The relationship between the Demonic Absorption Technique and my power.’

Greed and the Demonic Absorption Technique seemed to show some similarity and surely share a connection.

‘Could this matter be related to the Heavenly Demon?’

Though it’s a question, truth be told, it was more of a certainty.

How could it not be?

With how things have progressed, it’s unreasonable to be unaware.

The one who caused my regression was the Heavenly Demon; the Demonic Absorption Technique came from her.

It was evident that she was at the core of the entire sequence of events.

The trials I was facing were, inevitably, related to her.

Grinding my teeth—!

‘…Knowing all that.’

I met the Heavenly Demon in a back alley in Hanam.

Thinking back to that encounter caused my head to ache.

‘Knowing that the Heavenly Demon was in Hanam, I still came here.’

I found myself wondering why.

That being I had so long resented.

Since my regression, she was the next person I guarded against and aimed to block after Jang Seonyeon.

Yet here I was, instead of focusing on the Heavenly Demon, I ended up in the North Sea.

What was the reason for that?

Was it simply because something major happened to Nangong Bi-ah?

That certainly was a significant matter, but.

If it were just that, asking if I would redirect everything back to the North Sea seemed.

‘That would be ambiguous.’

Knowing of the Heavenly Demon’s presence, I left for Hanam.

Upon recalling I had used Nangong Bi-ah’s issue as an excuse to go to the North Sea, it all seemed quite flimsy.

No matter how many excuses and justifications I layered on, the essence does not change.

I simply wanted to.

‘Get away from the Heavenly Demon.’

Or rather.

‘…I must not meet the Heavenly Demon.’

Even just thinking of her, I felt a strange emotion not to try to meet with her.

Thus, I likely ran away to the North Sea.

‘Why?’

I asked myself.

‘Why did I run?’

I understood fear.

She was undeniably that kind of being.

But fleeing, that was something I could not comprehend.

It wasn’t even a retreat for the sake of plans.

It felt more like I had hesitated and then fled.

And that was why I found it incomprehensible.

Why had I done that? And furthermore.

‘Why only now am I realizing the strangeness of it?’

An inexplicable heaviness welled within me.

To resolve this suffocating feeling, there was only one method.

‘I must meet her.’

I would meet the Heavenly Demon.

That was the conclusion set forth.

Perhaps this was what should have been done from the start.

“Ha.”

I sighed.

Steam mixed with my breath and the cold was visible.

Once I determined my thoughts, I felt a little clearer in my head.

With resolve, I wrapped my body in energy.

Flame burst—!!

A ring of flames encircled my waist.

Using that heat as my ally, I surged forward.

Boom—!

A loud reverberation echoed in the void, and my body propelled forward.

I increased my speed.

The more I increased it, the more my heart felt constricted.

I felt fatigue creeping in, frowning at the sensation.

‘There isn’t much energy left.’

It was due to the fierce battles I had fought.

I hastily exhausted the energy from my vessel without even adjusting the techniques I had barely succeeded in mastering.

What’s worse, my physical body was injured as well.

‘If I’d known this would happen, I should have conserved some for myself.’

Before I hastily passed on power to Woo Hyeok, I should have reserved some for my own use.

Now, belated regret coursed through me.

‘Should I try to reclaim it?’

Having managed to heal up a bit.

Would I be able to retrieve what I had given? That thought bubbled up, but.

I quickly wiped that thought away.

For one reason.

‘Woo Hyeok would die.’

Dragons who had their powers snatched away die. That had been one of the conditions and effects of greed.

It was impossible to retrieve what I had given to Woo Hyeok.

‘Regardless, it’s a weird yet good power.’

It was overwhelmingly effective against dragons.

It could negate unreasonable powers, allowing me to fight with nothing more than my fists and martial arts.

However.

‘Other than that, there’s nothing.’

The issue with this power was that if I was weak, it ultimately meant nothing.

I had to win to take it away.

I had to win to kill.

It felt like a beautiful lie, perhaps.

That’s how it seemed.

‘But still, it’s better than having nothing.’

Ultimately, now that I understood the being I had to eliminate was a dragon, greed was most necessary to me.

In light of that, I would’ve preferred to return to the Central Plains immediately.

‘Tsk.’

But I couldn’t, which was aggravating.

‘…I’ve done everything I needed to.’

I had already found Nangong Bi-ah.

And since I had somewhat dealt with Woo Hyeok, I could have simply left.

Since the Ice Palace Lord had refused treatment, the justification to stay had vanished.

‘Either way.’

I needed to frown at the energy I sensed in the front.

Right now, the most urgent thing was that energy—whether it was greed, the Demonic Absorption Technique, or the Heavenly Demon; that was it.

‘Nothing easy ever happens.’

That thought pervaded my mind as I felt the energy.

When had it started?

It must have been from the point I had transferred power to Woo Hyeok.

Suuuuu—!

As I increased my velocity, the cold wind brushed past me.

There was undoubtedly something seeping into that wind.

Energy.

The energy felt from afar began to engulf me as it traveled on the wind.

‘This is crazy.’

I could not help but be astonished by the intensity I felt.

It was even more overwhelming than when I met Yu Seon or when I confronted the demon disguised as Woo Hyeok.

What was this fierce energy?

And why was I suddenly sensing this power?

The position from which this energy emerged was another issue.

Of all places—

‘It’s a hideout.’

The hideout where Nangong Bi-ah and Tang Soyeol were located.

And a few others.

‘Damn it.’

Instinctively, I understood.

This was a problem created as the demon disappeared, and something surely had occurred.

‘What the hell did they do?’

Traveling at maximum speed for a few minutes, I began to reach a conclusion in my Qi perception.

‘What is this?’

I sensed something for the first time and thought.

Perhaps I had misinterpreted everything? Unbeknownst to me, that thought flickered in my mind.

But no. My perception was spot on.

It simply felt so enormous that I considered it might be a mere illusion.

‘…Could this really be correct?’

The sheer size I felt was utterly different.

And I wasn’t referring to the quantity of energy.

It was, in the most literal sense, gigantic.

A sense of unease surged within me as I felt something unmatched, something colossal.

Flame burst—!

Soaring to the place, I peered down.

In an instant.

“Huh.”

The situation caused my eyes to widen.

-ROAR—!

-Retreat!

-Guard the Gungju—!!

In a space where a cave once should’ve existed, a gigantic hole had opened in the ground.

Above it—

-KYAAAAA—!!!

A colossal monster was rampaging, destroying everything around it.

“…Are you kidding me?”

It was a demon beast.

But not just any demon beast.

If the Red Demon Beast was the standard size of such beings, this one was several times, if not dozens of times larger, covered in glistening scales.

Most importantly.

“…White?”

The creature, covered in scales, was painted entirely white.

“Could it be?”

What that meant was.

This beast was the chief of the demon beasts that had vanished centuries ago, initially recognized as a dragon.

Its mere appearance would send waves strong enough to alter the geography of the continent, a calamity-grade existence.

It meant White Demon Beast.

At the very moment Gu Yangcheong encountered the demon beast.

“…Ugh.”

Left alone, Woo Hyeok cradled his throbbing head as he rose to his feet.

“…What a mess.”

Seeing the havoc around him, Woo Hyeok let out a faint laugh.

“What on earth happened?”

What could have gone so awry that part of the palace ended up in disarray?

As he pondered the question, deep down, he already knew the culprit.

Sizzle.

Between the shattered wall, signs of something melting were evident.

He could faintly perceive the heat in the atmosphere.

If that’s the case, who could be the culprit?

It was obvious.

“…Heh heh.”

It must be the work of his insane friend.

Woo Hyeok was confident of that.

Probably because.

‘It’s because of me.’

Due to his own reckless disappearance.

Recalling that, Woo Hyeok felt a bitter grin form.

‘She must’ve done something dangerous.’

He felt the weight of fault for having inadvertently led her into something unnecessary.

The somewhat unexpected detail was.

‘What on earth was her reason for going this far?’

Woo Hyeok couldn’t understand why Gu Yangcheong would have any need to do that towards him.

He had never been close enough from a young age to develop such a friendship.

In reality, he was the one who latched onto her.

Gu Yangcheong seemed to take it all in stride.

Despite the situation being such.

‘What was the purpose?’

What reason did Gu Yangcheong have to go this far?

Woo Hyeok found it impossible to fathom.

Even more so.

[Come on, figure it out yourself.]

She had bluntly brushed him off, vanishing on her own.

It seemed something significant had occurred, yet he could discern nothing.

Sighing, he surveyed the disarray of the palace.

He sensed something had changed within his physical form.

Having noticed his hair suddenly turned stark white and the overwhelming energy coursing through him.

How on earth did this happen?

Deep within, questions stirred briefly.

‘Regardless, I need to take action.’

Staying still would reveal nothing.

He also needed to check what had happened to Yu Seon.

Just as he planned to move, suddenly.

[The seal has been lifted.]

He halted—!

A voice echoed.

The unknown voice made Woo Hyeok turn his head.

‘Where did that come from?’

Where was that voice coming from?

As he anxiously scanned his surroundings.

[It’s strange. The timing shouldn’t be right yet.]

Woo Hyeok could only hear the unknown voice swirling around him.

“…Who are you?”

When he finally summoned the courage to ask with a tense voice.

[Hmm?]

The entity finally reacted.

[You can hear me?]

“…Yes.”

Very clearly.

[Oh? Well, isn’t this quite interesting.]

The voice was as lightly cold as it was smooth.

Just talking left an unsettling sensation, as if I might get cut.

[You’re not only a child from a different family, but a Wudang’s child can hear my voice.]

Woo Hyeok’s eyes widened at the revelation of his identity.

How on earth did they know he was from Wudang?

But.

[No matter. It’s not the time to dwell on that.]

As if the speaker cared little for such matters.

Suuuuu—!!

“…!”

Suddenly, cold energy gathered in front of Woo Hyeok.

Woo Hyeok quickly moved to place his hand on his waist.

‘This is bad.’

Of all times, his sword was nowhere to be found.

Crackle—!

The cold energy gradually merged with thunderous energy.

As the energy accumulated, a form began to take shape.

“…Huh?”

Woo Hyeok, who was cautiously observing, found his expression hardening instantly.

That was unavoidable.

The form shaping from the gathered energy was that of a human body, and the face of that body was resembling.

“Master…?”

It was exactly like his master, Master of Wudang Nangong Hyeong.

 

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