Chapter 92 – The First Heavenly Demon
It was Hangul.
Clear, unmistakable Hangul.
Ever since I fell into the world of Return of the Murim, I’d been able to understand the language and writing of this world as if it were a perk of being a transmigrator.
Even so, that didn’t an it was Hangul. It wasn’t Chinese characters I recognized either. It felt more like a third, completely different script.
But the text carved into the Martial Soul wall in front of right now—
“Day 1,024 since entering a wuxia novel”
—it was clear Hangul I hadn’t seen in months.
I ignored the clan heads as they babbled nonsense behind and focused on reading the words engraved into the wall.
“It’s been four years now, by calendar years, since I ca into the world of Murim. What happened? Why did an ordinary graduate student like end up like this?”
What kind of sin did I commit in my past life to end up transmigrated into a wuxia world as a grad student?
“People call the Blood Demon. They say blood flows wherever I go. Not like I asked for that—They’re the ones who picked fights to the death and all that. Sowhere, I heard they call the Heavenly Demon. That one sounds cooler. Blood Demon just sounds too cruel.”
So the First Heavenly Demon’s old nickna was Blood Demon…?
Now that I think about it, wasn’t there a cult in Return of the Murim that worshiped soone called the Blood Demon?
“This ti, people calling themselves descendants of the Sacred Fla started clinging to . What am I, so kind of FO—ST poster sword? I don’t know why they keep following around.”
Descendants of the Sacred Fla. That must an the Gwangmyeong Seong Clan.
“Anyway, I want to go ho. Others envy and fear for becoming this strong in just four years, but I think about the things I left behind. Like the ran I used to eat after all-nighters at the lab.”
To be called the Blood Demon in four years, you must have gone absolutely insane. But missing convenience store ran after a lab all-nighter? Yeah, he’s definitely one of us.
And then, the next sentence made freeze.
“According to what the Sacred Fla people told , there’s soone called Heavenly Saint on Mount Heaven. They say he knows everything. Maybe he can tell what’s going on. If so, I won’t even look back—I’ll go straight ho.”
Heavenly Saint.
There it was—an explicit ntion of Heavenly Saint.
“Hey, Skybreaker. When was the First Heavenly Demon active?”
[About 300 years ago, as far as I know.]
That ans Heavenly Saint was already known at least 300 years ago. Of course, the na Heavenly Saint might just be a title passed down like Heavenly Demon.
Regardless, what matters is that even the First Heavenly Demon thought Heavenly Saint might have the answers.
Heavenly Saint…
A man who was active 300 years ago, and who predicted great upheavals decades ago. The answer really must lie with him.
I kept reading.
“Well, even if I say that, I still care about the followers who’ve been chasing after . So I’m leaving behind this insight. Even if they can’t read Hangul, maybe they’ll get sothing out of it just by looking at the wall. Take what you can, if you can.”
I almost cursed aloud.
So the stuff I’d dismissed as nonsense from the clan heads wasn’t nonsense at all.
The truly shocking part was that everyone who looked at the Martial Soul gained different insights.
When martial artists reach a certain level, they face a wall—an obstacle to the next realm.
Many spend their lives training, only to never overco it.
And these walls are incredibly diverse, unique to each individual, so insight doesn’t co easy.
Well, except for , apparently. Everyone else is getting insights left and right.
That’s what makes this Martial Soul so terrifying. It was answering everyone’s unique problems. It’s like creating a single formula that solves every possible equation.
“Oh, and if anyone can read this… you must be Korean, right? I’ve hidden ssages like this all over the place. You know Mount Hua? I thought the Mount Hua Sect would be there, but I guess it’s still too early. Anyway, I left one there too. And one on the cliffs near Shaolin Temple. There are more—so go find them. They’ll help you too. Probably? Anyway, the real insight I leave behind here is…”
As I read the next line, I nodded—and at the sa ti, I couldn’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
“Ultrasonic Vibration.”
So the true nature of the First Heavenly Demon’s martial intent, the one etched into the Martial Soul wall, was Ultrasonic Vibration.
“Then how did the cult figure out that intent during the war with Martial World?”
In Return of the Murim, the Martial World side’s signature technique was Whirlflow, while the cult’s was Ultrasonic Vibration.
So even if they couldn’t read Hangul, they could grasp the intent.
Because the person who deciphered it—was none other than the current Heavenly Demon, Lee Seryeong.
That makes everything click.
When war broke out, they must’ve finally revealed the Martial Soul to her, especially since there’s no rule saying the Heavenly Demon can’t see the Martial Soul.
If it’s Lee Seryeong, she could’ve figured out the First Heavenly Demon’s true intent from the traces alone, even without understanding the language.
As I remained silent, Skybreaker spoke.
[Monster. You… do you know sothing?]
“Yeah. I know now. The First Heavenly Demon—he was soone like . That’s the writing I used back ho. That’s Hangul.”
[The First Heavenly Demon… was a monster like you?!]
“Not a monster, okay?”
[This is absurd!]
Honestly, I’m the one who should be in shock. Where does fiction end and reality begin? Was the First Heavenly Demon another real person like , or just a fictional setup created by the author?
I was confused too.
But what I’ve learned here is this: when things feel hopeless, don’t give up—just do what you can.
“So here, I’ll give you the mnemonic. morize it.”
[Mnemonic… You an there’s a chant for the martial intent?]
“Yeah. It’s for sothing called Ultrasonic Vibration.”
I knew the concept, at least vaguely. It’s sothing that pops up in web novels and subcultures a lot.
Simply put, it’s a technique where you vibrate a weapon at extre speed to boost destructive power.
[Hmm… so you’re saying all things have a natural frequency of vibration?]
“Knew you’d get it.”
Even without modern knowledge, Skybreaker understood the concept of Ultrasonic Vibration right away. Just what you’d expect from a top-tier wuxia AI.
While Skybreaker morized the full mnemonic for Ultrasonic Vibration—
“Hold on. How about saving this discussion for later?”
That voice cut through everything. Cheol Muguk, the clan head of the Iron Mountain Cheol Clan—the weakest here in terms of combat power, but as a master craftsman and the eldest among us, no one could ignore him.
Thanks to his words, the rising tension among the clan heads began to calm.
“What matters now…is that the Sado Clan Head has done what no one else could.”
“For decades, the Martial Soul wall never once showed its true form.”
The others nodded at Cheol Muguk’s words.
“Though he’s officially been recognized with the seal, most of us probably didn’t acknowledge him as a true clan head of the Six Demon Families. But now? Do any of you still need more proof?”
Honestly, I’d thought of him as a grumpy old man with a temper, but now I found myself grateful.
I’d have to bring so of that fine liquor from Sado Gwang’s private cellar next ti.
“I acknowledge the Sado Clan Head.”
Jin Yeongryeong raised a hand, his expression unreadable.
—I acknowledge him as well. The Sado Clan Head has demonstrated true strength.
Even Chu Taesu had no choice but to nod. Only Hyuk Mun turned his head, clearly still unwilling to accept it.
Recognition or not—if Cheol Muguk hadn’t stepped in, I would’ve been subjected to endless tests like earlier.
But now, I was free of that burden in one fell swoop.
“Sado Clan Head.”
Gwak Riyeon addressed .
“As Cheol Clan Head said, the Martial Soul wall has never reacted like that before. What exactly did you do?”
“I just infused it with energy.”
“You think we didn’t try that ourselves?”
“You didn’t have back then.”
More precisely, no one had the internal energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Not for decades.
“…How arrogant.”
Gwak Riyeon gave a dry laugh.
“But it’s true, so I can’t argue.”
I just shrugged.
Behind , Tak Horak and Gwak Jin were probably whispering stuff like, ‘Our Clan Head is amazing’ or ‘Master is so cool’, but I chose to ignore all that nonsense.
—Sado Clan Head. Do you perhaps know what’s written on that wall? Sothing about it seems too structured, like a script or code.
As expected of Chu Taesu. Or maybe praise is due to King Sejong.
Even from such a short passage, Chu Taesu had guessed it was so kind of writing.
Naturally, I played the part of the protagonist—aning I kept my mouth shut and lied through my teeth.
There was no way I’d hand over a weapon as powerful as Ultrasonic Vibration just like that. If real war ever broke out, I could share it then.
“I did get the feeling it was so kind of writing, but I believe what’s important isn’t the content, but the will embedded in it.”
The will?
“Even though you are all Transcendent Peak masters, you each saw the sa thing and interpreted it differently. That itself must be a design left by the First Heavenly Demon.”
—To make one trace yield multiple revelations… it seems impossible, but if it’s the will of the First Heavenly Demon, perhaps it’s not.
Chu Taesu clapped once.
—In that case, I propose this: since sothing unprecedented has occurred during this eting, we should all take ti to ditate freely until the final assembly.
“I, Hyuk Mun, agree.”
“I’m an old man. I’d love to rest like a lazy scholar.”
“I too agree.”
Nod.
The clan heads all agreed. That was fine by too—free ti ant I could relax.
I might sound all smooth and refined, but being surrounded by Transcendent Peak monsters is ntally exhausting. If I didn’t have the Heavenly Demon Divine Art’s energy to sustain , I might’ve dropped the whole act long ago.
—Very well. The final assembly will be three days from now, at noon.
With that, the crowd dispersed.
Gwak Riyeon and Cheol Sopyeong, both masters of fist techniques, stood together by the wall, exchanging insights.
Hyuk Mun crossed his arms and stared silently.
Even the ever-elegant Chu Taesu sat down and began drawing complicated patterns on the floor while chanting sothing.
The Jin Clan bastards, though? They were still staring at .
“What will you do now?”
Cheol Muguk approached , now that he had nothing else to do.
“I plan to return to my quarters.”
“To sort out your insight, huh? Tch. I was hoping to drink with you.”
“Next ti.”
Just as I turned to go—I realized I’d forgotten soone.
Saweol.
She’d been overshadowed by the clan heads, but she too was a Transcendent Peak expert.
She must be itching to sit down and organize her insight right now.
Wow, zero points as a superior.
I spoke to her.
“I’m going to drink with the Cheol Clan Head, so you go ahead and consolidate your enlightennt.”
Once she gains her own insight, I’ll teach her the concept of Ultrasonic Vibration. Even for Saweol, grasping it in one go will be difficult.
She asked cautiously.
“Will that be alright, sir?”
“Who’s worrying about who here?”
“But—”
“Besides, it’s good for if you get stronger.”
At my words, her ears turned faintly red.
Is it hot in here?
“Thank you for your generosity, Clan Head.”
She bowed.
Then I turned to Tak Horak, who looked like he was about to plop down and ditate.
“Tak Horak. You’re coming with .”
“I want to gain enlightennt too!”
“If you stare at that thing with your current level, you’ll end up with Qi deviation. Is that what you want?”
“No, sir!”
“Then let’s go.”
Cheol Muguk watched our exchange and comnted,
“Looks like the Sado Clan Head is going to need a second round of recognition.”
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