Chapter 1213

<Chapter 1213> 1213. The Path of Radiant Ascension

Heavenly Demon Divine Art Dragon Fist!

The confused guy reacted a beat too late to my attack. It landed perfectly! My Dragon Fist slammed into the shadow’s abdomen, sending it flying back into the wall.

But the shadow stood up as if nothing happened. Didn’t seem fatal… I was satisfied that its momentum was disrupted.

“Your martial art is definitely Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but it’s not the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I know. Did you modify the original? Or… is this another version of Heavenly Demon Divine Art…?”

While speaking, the shadow’s demonic energy writhed, trying to dominate the surrounding space. I sensed it earlier during our fight – the defining feature of this guy’s Heavenly Demon Divine Art is erosion. It slowly grinds away at the opponent’s power, gradually gaining the upper hand.

However, my Heavenly Demon Divine Art can easily withstand his demonic energy.

“Hand over the White Yang Flower and die!”

Heavenly Demon Divine Art Heavenly Demon Sword Demon Wind!

I swung my blade. A black wind surged forth toward the shadow.

The shadow thrust its sword forward. Dark demonic energy flickered like a candle flame at the blade’s tip, then suddenly expanded into a shield – a sword barrier. My black wind dissipated upon contact with the barrier.

I wasn’t disappointed. I never expected such a simple attack would work on him.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art Heavenly Demon Domination Step!

I moved forward.

With each step, I could feel my dominion over the surrounding space growing. I soon invaded the shadow’s territory. I couldn’t claim all of it at once, but I could feel control gradually shifting to me.

I smirked. As expected, his demonic energy couldn’t erode mine.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art Heavenly Demon Sword Triple Kill from Nine Directions!

I simultaneously stabbed at the shadow’s head and both shoulders.

The shadow’s body slid unnaturally without moving its legs, as if pulled by an invisible force.

“What is this? Sorcery?”

“Heavenly Demon Domination Step.”

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“It’s just part of the Heavenly Demon Domination Step.”

I continued my assault. The shadow moved like a ghost, dodging all my attacks. Then suddenly there were two shadows, indistinguishable from each other, even moving in different postures.

‘There was no sensation of using sorcery. This must be an artifact ability.’

No need to panic. In this world, clone techniques are close to divine arts. No mere artifact could replicate such an ability.

‘Not even a spirit can create a perfect clone of itself. At best, the clone can exert about 30% of the original’s power.’

Heavenly Demon Divine Art Heavenly Demon Sword Rotating Heaven!

I spun my sword, creating a whirling blade that tore through the surrounding space. Again, I failed to hit the shadow. Its evasive steps felt like slipping through space, hard to adjust to.

The shadow multiplied again, from two to four.

‘This isn’t clone technique… more like some kind of illusionary positioning similar to Form-Shifting Concealment?’


It would seem that the multiplied shadows are each moving independently. As I stood still, the shadows continued to multiply—four became eight, eight became sixteen. Before I knew it, the shadows had surrounded me. Turning my head around, I realized something and was taken aback.

“You look surprised.”

“…Is this your Heavenly Demon Overlord Step?”

The shadow didn’t respond. And yet, that silence was an answer in itself.

The shadows all lunged at me simultaneously. They covered all 16 directions. The ceiling was blocked, and there was no way to dig into the ground. My only choice was to counterattack.

Heavenly Demon Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Overlord Step (天魔君臨步), Waveform (波形).

I stepped into the true stance. A surge of energy spread out in all directions, engulfing the shadowy figures. The shadow clones wavered like wind-blown lamps and disappeared, leaving behind just one shadow poised to strike my back. Unfortunately, dodging its attack was too late.

Heavenly Demon Art (天魔神功), Adamantine Demon Dragon (金剛魔龍).

I pushed my body’s durability to its limits. In less than a second, the shadow’s sword slashed across my body 22 times. Even with the Adamantine Demon Dragon active, my skin tore and blood splattered everywhere. However, there were no fatal wounds—I endured the assault.

The shadow smirked upon seeing me standing firm like a Diamond Guardian.

“To withstand this? …How absurd.”

Heavenly Demon Art (天魔神功), Adamantine Demon Dragon (金剛魔龍), Reverse (反).

I unleashed the accumulated damage from the Adamantine Demon Dragon toward the shadow. An explosive burst of energy sent the shadow soaring upward.

Heavenly Demon Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Divine Palm (天魔神掌).

I launched the Heavenly Demon Divine Palm into the shadow’s abdomen.

“Guaaahk!”

The shadow’s waist bent as it crashed to the floor.

“Finally, I can uncover your true identity.”

Approaching the shadow, I raised the Crimson Lotus Blade. Its crimson blade was enveloped in a pitch-black sword aura.

What I needed first was information. I intended to sever the shadow’s limbs, interrogate it, and extract the information. If necessary, I’d even seek assistance from Mi-ling.

Despite the dire situation, the shadow remained calm. Feeling a slight unease, I prepared to swing my sword immediately.

Kwa-jiiik!

A strange sound emanated from my body, accompanied by waves of pain. Nearly dropping my sword, I twisted my body to regain my footing and examined myself. From the wounds where the shadow had torn my skin earlier, black demonic energy now rose.

“…What have you done?”

“I used my hidden trump card.”

The shadow raised its left hand and clenched it into a fist. The demonic energy infiltrated my body. It was already too late to use Celestial Heart to repel the energy—it had already reached my heart.

“Feel proud. You and your Heavenly Demon Art were truly remarkable. This isn’t because you let your guard down. It’s simply because you lacked information about me.”

The invading demonic energy gripped my heart and began to destroy it.

‘I can’t just take this lying down…!’

My consciousness faded. This sensation of death was familiar. Clinging to my awareness, electric currents surged through my body. Sensing an improvement, I grabbed the sword and plunged it into the shadow’s head.

“…Impressive. Who would’ve thought I’d encounter such a variable so soon. But this variable known as ‘you’ will cease to exist.”

The shadow melted away and disappeared. In its place lay a single black heart pierced by the Crimson Lotus Blade.

I contorted my face in agony.

It had been deception from the start. The shadow was merely a clone all along.

‘…No. Not a clone, more like an avatar. The real power of this fiend is far greater than the shadow.’

Perhaps it was fortunate it wasn’t the real thing. Had the main body come, I might’ve died without any chance for retaliation.

With a thud, I collapsed onto the floor.

[Death Resistance has activated. For the next 15 seconds, I cannot die.]

[Complete Recovery has been initiated.]

I opened my eyes again. All wounds were gone, and the fiend’s demonic energy that had invaded my body was no longer detectable.

Instinctively, I looked around.


Yes. The joint was a total mess from the battle. And in the corner, Cheon Yu-Yun lay unconscious.

I furrowed my brow. The problem now was how to clean up after this.

“First… I’ll take care of Baek Yang-Hwa.”

Next was Cheon Yu-Yun.

There were two options: leaving her here or taking her with me.

The former would be convenient for me. The latter meant erasing as much evidence of the fight as possible by collapsing the cave, but it would gain her trust.

“I can use Cheon Yu-Yun to naturally climb up the ranks of the Cheon Ma Shin sect. Can’t let her die yet.”

Cheon Yu-Seong still had her uses.

“Troublesome, but I’m taking Cheon Yu-Yun. Need to get her trust.”

I descended Mount Baek with Cheon Yu-Yun in tow. Of course, before leaving, I collapsed the cave to erase the battle traces. Dragging her arm as we moved, my thoughts drifted.

“Shadow. That guy’s definitely Regressed Demon Lord.”

Otherwise, none of this makes sense.

The issue is he’s different from the Regressed Demon Lord I know. In the novel [Demon Lord Revenge Chronicles], the protagonist never used these methods. Even the Celestial Demon Art he uses differs.

“There’s no doubt it’s him, even if he’s diverged from canon. He knew Cheon Yu-Yun would gain enlightenment and recognized the true face of Yeom Gyu-Seok. Meaning, he’s already regressed in this world.”

Fortunately, he doesn’t know me. Apparently, we didn’t meet in his previous life.

“…And since I have the Leisure Life app, there’s a high chance I didn’t exist in his pre-regression world.”

That explains things.

Regressed Demon Lord using powers outside of canon? This world’s background is Immortal Swordsman fiction. Regardless of what level he reached before regressing… all his strange abilities make sense considering this world’s context.

“The more important question is his goal.”

In [Demon Lord Revenge Chronicles], the protagonist became the strongest man under heaven but was betrayed by his subordinates and fell into a trap set by external forces.

“This world only has one Cheon Ma Shin sect. The possession-type Demon Lord and regression-type Demon Lord’s original settings clashed, and the world adopted the possession-type Demon Lord’s backstory.”

Just seeing that Cheon Yu-Yun maintains her position as Junior Demon Lady proves it.

“The Leisure Life app must’ve patched the setting conflicts automatically. There’s probably little left of [Demon Lord Revenge Chronicles]’s original setup. Whatever remains has likely changed.”

But one thing remains unchanged: Regressed Demon Lord’s most crucial fact—he has regressed.

“Regressed Demon Lord’s goal… revenge, right? The targets for destruction in the original included the entire Cheon Ma Shin sect and everything else… but now it’s different. He’s operating covertly through avatars, stealing divine herbs while hiding his true form.”

Regressed Demon Lord was amassing power. His main body was likely already above the Third Realm, yet he remained discreet.

“If such a powerhouse acted openly, rumors would’ve spread already. Is even the Third Realm not enough?”

Perhaps the Cheon Ma Shin sect is just a small part of his vengeance target.

“What level did he reach in his previous life? And who exactly is his target for revenge?”

My head throbbed. No matter how hard I thought, no answers came. Only the person who regressed knows the truth to all these mysteries.

One thing’s certain: he doesn’t plan to kill Cheon Yu-Yun anytime soon. I felt no killing intent when he attacked her. Maybe she’s not part of his revenge list. Or maybe he plans to use her and kill her later.

“Everything was going smoothly until New World Demon Lord killed Shin Jong-Woo… Now things are getting complicated.”

And there’s another variable besides Regressed Demon Lord.

Reincarnated Demon Lord.

What’s that kid up to? Thinking about it stresses me out.

“Ah, I need to claim Yeon Ae-Ha tonight.”

Nothing beats sex when you’re stressed like this.