Absolute Regression Chapter 168

Episode 168: I’m not angry because it’s not ordinary.

“I forgot!”

Seo Dae-ryong shouted. He had really completely forgotten about the pouch of strategies his master had given him.

“How could I have forgotten this?”

“So that’s why the old man gave it to me instead of you?”

“Ah! I’m alive. I’m finally alive!”

“Is that really so? If it were normal, I would have just lost without any problems, but if I open this pocket and force myself, I might die.”

Seo Dae-ryong was startled.

“Are you using my tactic of making me lose my cool by imagining the worst-case scenario right now?”

“No. This time, I’m talking about a very real possibility. Are you still going to open it?”

“I have to see it. Regardless of whether I win or lose, this is the first strategy that Master left for me. I have to see it.”

I opened the pocket. There was a piece of paper rolled up inside.

He handed it to Seo Dae-ryong. Seo Dae-ryong took a deep breath, then slowly unfolded it and read it.

Seo Dae-ryong was shocked after checking the contents. He handed it back to me, trembling, without even reading it all.

“Hey, look at this, look at this!”

There was a single magic spell written on it.

The first set of the Myeolcheonmado style (滅天魔刀式), the exclusive sword technique of the Blood Heavenly Demon Sword, was written on it. Not all of the sword techniques were written on it, but only the first set was written.

[… … This is the first of the nine diagrams of the Heavenly Demonic Sect, but it will be of great help in the fights of the later indices. If there are parts you don’t understand, you can learn them as the engineer instructs you, and the engineer instructs you on how to hide your martial arts skills.]

Seo Dae-ryong had a half-souled look on his face.

“what’s the matter?”

“It is said that the Mysterious Heavenly Demonic Cultivation is a martial art that is only passed down to the official successor.”

“Of course.”

“But why aren’t you surprised, sir?”

“Why should I be surprised?”

“You mean you don’t just think of me as a disciple, but as your successor?”

Seo Dae-ryong’s voice was trembling. It was the most trembling he had been since he had met him.

“Isn’t that a given?”

“Is that natural? Is it natural that Master thinks of me as the next Bloodthirsty Demon?”

“Among my elder disciples, who else is there who can become a demon king other than you?”

Seo Dae-ryong was so moved that he didn’t know what to do.

Actually, I also found out this time that Hyeolcheon Doma was thinking of Seo Daeryong as his successor. I expected it, but the decision was made faster than I thought. That means he liked Seo Daeryong that much.

“But you are passing down this important martial art by writing it down on a note like this?”

“That’s why you gave it to me. I won’t lose it.”

Although it was only a part, he also taught me the Dokmunmu Gungyeol. It was also a passage that clearly showed how much Hyeolcheon Doma trusted me.

“Ahhh!”

Seo Dae-ryong was so moved that he couldn’t come to his senses and was pacing back and forth.

Then I showed him the last part of the paper.

“Did you read this part too?”

“What part?”

There was a separate line written at the end of the sentence.

[If you die, you will die by my hand.]

“omg!”

For a moment, Seo Dae-ryong was startled.

On the contrary, I burst out laughing. Yes, there was no way that someone with the personality of a bloodthirsty demon would not have said something like that.

“Ah! You must have pressed down hard on it. This handwriting looks particularly dark. Surely you wouldn’t… really kill me, would you?”

There’s no way I could miss this great opportunity to tease him.

“Is that really so? He fought against the later index with his own martial arts skills and lost? Would he just sit there with that stubborn pride?”

“Oh, you might really kill me.”

Seo Dae-ryong clutched his head.

“Even if you spare my life, I’ll probably be in hell for a while.”

“It will be a lifelong training in hell. Your Majesty! I must win! Please let me win!”

“Don’t get excited. If you accidentally hurt or kill Lady Jin, the leader of the martial arts world will kill you. In that case, you will really die.”

Since you already know your identity and that of Seo Dae-ryong, you absolutely must not hurt Jin So-jeo. The reason you have come to this final duel is because of your common goal of eliminating Cheon Myeong-hoe.

“Your Majesty! Please let me win without harming Lady Jin! Be sure to use the first eclipse of the Heavenly Demonic Cultivation to win, but make it look like no one else has master’s martial arts.”

“Do you know how impossible this is when you ask me this?”

“If it weren’t for you, my lord, I wouldn’t be asking you for something like this.”

There are five days left until the finals.

Fortunately, the first method didn’t seem that difficult, and it was worth a try for the smart Seo Dae-ryong. After all, the goal wasn’t to achieve greatness, but to defeat Jin Ha-ryeong using the mysteriousness of the first method. It only took one night.

“Please, I beg you, my right arm. Let’s go!”

We went straight up to the mountain training ground. We didn’t pay any attention to Jin Ha-ryeong, Maeng Ju, or Cheon Myeong-hoe.

I rather thought that this was the way to avoid arousing suspicion from Cheonmyeonghoe. Who would have thought that those who disappeared to train before the finals would have plotted something? They would have thought that they were just honest warriors who came up from the countryside.

We were purely focused on the non-competition, and I thought that was the best way to approach Cheonmyeonghoe.

A few days passed and the day before the finals arrived.

The atmosphere of the martial arts alliance on the eve of the decisive battle was truly festive. The surroundings were bustling with countless martial artists from all over the Central Plains. There were also many merchants who came to sell their wares to the martial artists, and there were also those who demonstrated martial arts on the streets to promote their school’s martial arts.

Scammers were rushing to deceive the martial arts world’s first-borns, and there were many thieves targeting Jeon Nang.

The Murim Alliance released the soldiers of various elite organizations, including the Blue Dragon Group, to prevent any unpleasant incidents.

In the midst of the commotion, Jin Ha-ryeong entered the inn wearing a bamboo hat. When he asked the inn owner about the black smoke, he heard that he and his master had not come in for several days.

‘Where on earth did he go?’

I wanted to see the sword before the finals. I wanted to make this joke with him. Should I look after your master or not? I really wanted to make this joke with him.

I wondered what would happen if Geomyeon asked for forgiveness. Right now, I have no intention of letting her go, but would I be shaken even a little?

She left the guesthouse with a regretful heart. Now that it has come to this, there is no choice but to change the joke. After winning, I should tell him this.

If you had asked me to come and look at it earlier, I would have done it. Dude, where the hell have you been?

* * *

The day of the finals has finally arrived.

A huge crowd gathered, and as expected for the finals, all the important figures were present.

First of all, the leader of the martial arts league who hosted this competition, as well as the heads of martial arts league organizations and martial arts masters from all over the central plains filled the seats.

The hot topic of this competition was definitely Seo Dae-ryong. People were curious to see if he, who came from a small sect, could write a new history.

Especially since his opponent was Jin Ha-ryeong, the granddaughter of the leader of the martial arts world, the moment he defeated her, Seo Dae-ryong would become a true hero.

Of course, there were many more people who predicted Jin Ha-ryeong’s victory than those who predicted his victory.

Seo Dae-ryong came up on stage first after the referee’s introduction.

The look in his eyes was different from other times.

He had been burning white for the past five days. He had never worked this hard in his life, and he never will. He had no regrets even if he lost. Oh, no. He couldn’t lose. The thought of a lifetime of hellish training was terrifying.

Shouts of support erupted from all sides. Seo Dae-ryong closed his eyes for a moment and enjoyed this moment. It was a gift that life had given him. After finishing this work and returning, he might have to live his entire life as an investigator of the Hwangcheon Pavilion in the Heavenly Demon Sect. The final battle of the Soryongjeon, a moment that would never happen again in his life.

Seo Dae-ryong looked back at the sword dance under the stage.

Geommu-geuk, who was looking up at the stage with his arms crossed, nodded at himself. Seo Dae-ryong also nodded once. That was enough for the two to communicate before the match.

The referee introduced Jin Ha-ryeong this time. A louder cheer erupted than the one that had flown to Seo Dae-ryong.

Her gaze, standing on the stage, turned towards the sword dance beyond Seodaeryong.

He was looking at Seo Dae-ryong and himself with indifferent eyes. I don’t know why I feel this way, but right now, at this moment, Geommu-geuk felt like a different person. Not a servant, not a friend, but someone else.

“Now, the final match will begin!”

The battle began with a roar that shook heaven and earth at the call of judgment.

The first one to move was Seo Dae-ryong. His sword quickly crossed the air.

You only get one chance to win. You practice and practice for that one chance. You must never be defeated before you create that chance.

Although Seo Dae-ryong pressed forward roughly, Jin Ha-ryeong easily blocked the attack. Jin Ha-ryeong was clearly one step ahead in martial arts skills.

Fortunately, thanks to the increased internal energy this time, I wasn’t pushed back in strength.

The close fight continued.

But the momentum gradually began to lean towards Jinharyeong.

Seo Dae-ryong’s attacks became slower and slower, but Jin Ha-ryeong’s sword became faster and faster. Seo Dae-ryong had to use all his might to block her attacks.

It was thanks to Seo Dae-ryong’s efforts and talent that he was able to endure to this extent. However, nothing could overcome this obvious difference in skill.

Those who were watching the gradually getting pushed back expected that the fight would end soon. The martial arts leader also watched his granddaughter’s fight with a relaxed mind.

At that very moment, when Seo Dae-ryong was being pushed to the end of the stage.

The moment has come.

The distance between the two of them, the position of her feet, the position of the sword, the exact moment when his feet and body, the sword and the sword were in the exact position he had been waiting for.

Seo Dae-ryong did not miss this one opportunity.

Oh my god!

The first form of the transformed Mysterious Heavenly Demonic Way was revealed as the Tao of the Western Dragon created a new beginning.

It was the first change of scenery since she started practicing martial arts, and it was a move that caught her off guard.

Surprised, she swung her sword to block, but he too was practicing.

The Western Dragon’s sword twisted at an odd angle and struck her sword repeatedly, flying in to cut off the fingers holding the sword.

The moment the martial arts leader who had been watching suddenly stood up!

Taaang!

The sword that escaped Jin Ha-ryeong’s grasp and flew into the air drew a curve and fell to the ground with a clanking sound. She had no choice but to give up the sword, as it would have cut off her fingers if she had held on.

Before he knew it, Seodaeryong’s sword was aimed at Jinharyeong’s neck.

Jin Ha-ryeong couldn’t believe this situation. The last move that blew away his sword was so exquisite that he couldn’t handle it.

Words she really didn’t want to say came out of her mouth.

“… … I lost.”

At that moment, the referee declared Seo Dae-ryong the winner.

“The winner of the Little Dragon Tournament is the Gansu Calligraphy School’s Little Dragon!”

At the same time, cheers erupted from all directions. Seo Dae-ryong ran down the stage like a child and hugged Geommu-geuk.

“Thank you, thank you very much.”

Tears flowed from Seo Dae-ryong’s eyes. It was the first time I saw him cry. Seo Dae-ryong seemed like the type of person who wouldn’t cry easily, but he couldn’t hold back his tears.

Although he wouldn’t have won if it weren’t for the Sword Dance, Seodaeryong really tried hard. In other words, it was because of that kind of Seodaeryong that the teachings of the Sword Dance worked.

Geommugeuk hugged him tightly and whispered softly.

“Good work.”

From being an investigator at Hwangcheon Pavilion to becoming a disciple of Hyeolcheon Doma, he has now won the competition to select the next leader of the Murim Alliance by defeating the granddaughter of the leader of the Murim Alliance. The joy was not only because of the victory. It was a great feeling, as if he had now entered the path of a true martial artist.

“Stop crying and go up on stage.”

“yes.”

Seo Dae-ryong, wiping away tears, climbed up onto the stage.

At that moment, Geommu-geuk felt a gaze. The leader of the martial arts world was looking at him from afar. It was a distance from which even the most skilled masters would never be able to transmit their voices, but Geommu-geuk’s voice was clearly transmitted to the leader.

-I’m sorry. The friend who came with me was so sincere that I helped him practice.

-What is the final method?

-This is the martial arts of Blood Heavenly Sword Master.

The Murim Lord was shocked by my honest words.

-That was Doma’s martial arts?

-Yes. This guy is Thomas’s disciple.

I said it on purpose. If Seo Dae-ryong was not an ordinary man, the anger of the Murim Alliance leader would have subsided. Indeed, the Murim Alliance leader did not make this result an issue anymore.

―Sometimes defeat can be more helpful than victory.

It seems that he thought that perhaps this defeat would be of greater help to his granddaughter who had never known defeat.

―I am simply amazed by the great generosity of the leader.

The gaze of the swordsman turned back to the non-stage area.

And then another moment came.

Across from the overjoyed Seo Dae-ryong, a woman caught his eye. It was the woman who came to congratulate him every time he won.

At that moment, Geommu-geuk saw her eyes and expression, which were cold and indifferent. Since he had always seen her shyly smiling, that expression was very unfamiliar.

She practiced her facial expressions. She smiled, frowned, and smiled again. Then she looked up at the stage and waved her hand, calling out to Seo Dae-ryong.

The moment her eyes met with Seo Dae-ryong’s, she smiled brightly. She was a completely different person from the person Geommu-geuk had seen just a moment ago. It was thanks to Shinan-sul that he was able to clearly notice this contrasting change in her expression even from afar.

‘It’s a thousand-man meeting!’

They had been working on this for some time.

Perhaps, not only Seo Dae-ryong, but also other unmanned players who advanced to the finals may have been approached in a similar way.

To those who like women, they give women; to those who need friends, they give friends; to those who need money, they give money. Cheonmyeonghoe was indeed no ordinary organization.

Anyway, I finally succeeded in catching Cheonmyeonghoe’s tail!

But the joy was short-lived. Geommu-geuk looked at Seodae-ryong with a pitiful heart. He was waving his hand at Cheonmyeong-hoe and smiling brightly.

‘Ah, Daeryong. What should I do?’

I plan on not telling Seo Dae-ryong until the woman reveals her true colors. It would be better if I didn’t know anything, so my words and actions would be more natural.

I’m sorry, Inspector Seo. The more you really like them, the more certain you’ll be able to catch them. There’s nothing you can do. You have to mature as much as it hurts!