110 – First Master (2)

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Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon
Chapter 110 – First Master (2)
Translated by : moonchildkhz

***

Woon-seong faltered for a moment. 

The momentary pause was because the words he had just heard were unbelievable. 

Age Reversing Revival.

The upper realm where a person reversed time and returned to their youth. 

It was a phenomenon known to happen when a person’s inner strength and martial comprehension reached pure peak perfection, allowing them to purge their human husk. 

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. 

Reversing time was not a work in progress — it would happen, or it wouldn’t. 

Age Reversing Revival was just a phenomenon that occurred after cultivating an art to a certain degree or more, be that body modification, inner qi, or something like pill-making. 

Of course, not all martial artists who reached said peak would achieve Age Reversing Revival. 

First, the art practiced must have characteristics that implied Age Reversing Revival was possible.
For example, an art that was founded on self-harm would not work. 

More importantly, the characteristics of the practitioner had to match the characteristics of the cultivated art.
A cultivator whose qi followed the flow of water could not achieve Age Reversal by cultivating an art of fire.

It was for these reasons that very few people in Murim history had achieved Age Reversing Revival. 

Not only were they few in number, not everyone had been on the Orthodox side.

Also, this did not mean that the person who achieved Age Reversing Revival had to be strong. 

Of course, no one would tell someone else the secrets of their rejuvenation. 

Still, most martial artists who achieved Age Reversing Revival were martial artists at an outstanding level. 

It was not easy to force back the aging of a human body, to forcefully reverse time and return to youth. 

So at least in the Absolute Realm, he may even be at the brink of being in the realm of Semi-Divine. 

It’s about forcefully revering the natural aging of a human body with inner strength.
That is no shape or form an easy achievement. 

And if this man truly is Jegal Sung, then what should be feared isn’t his martial arts. 

The Jegal Clan is a clan of intellectuals.
And being on the top of that clan… I cannot even imagine who smart this man is. 

The Jegal Clan was famous for the Stone Sentinel Maze, which had been created by their ancestor Zhuge Liang.
[1]

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The Stone Sentinel Maze was an array of rocks and boulders based on the Eight Trigrams.
It was said to make rocks seem like swords and pebbles like mountains, generating dust storms and powerful rivers to crush the enemy.  

Given how high the Jegal Clan was now, if Zhuge Liang’s descendants had inherited even half of his abilities, Jegal Sung was unpredictably dangerous. 

On the contrary, it could be bluffing. 

Woon-seong could not believe that the man was Jegal Sung just because he said so. 

“Can you prove that you’re the Venerable Dragon?”

Myung Am was surprised, “W-What are you saying…?”

The man who called himself the Venerable Dragon only smiled lightly and picked up some pebbles. 

A total of five pebbles, each spotted black and white. 

Holding them in his hand, he stared at the moon. 

“Even the smallest existences in nature all possess a meaning.
Black and white are no different either.
White is the yang, black is the yin.
Find the harmony of yin and yang, birthing the three essentials and the four directions, and soon nature will be made whole again.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the man threw the pebbles. 

Fwoom—

In an instant, the world before Woon-seong’s eyes shifted. 

The surrounding garden disappeared and he was standing amidst a vast ocean. 

Where flowers had been blooming, massive waves crashed ashore. 

Woon-seong stood atop a small rocky island in the middle of the sea, and Jegal Sung stood upon a small boat in the turbulent waves. 

A realistic illusion comparable to the Polymorphic Combat Illusion.
He created such an illusion with a few pebbles…

I don’t believe there are many who can pull off such a feat beside Jegal Sung. 

Even if it’s not as good as the Polymorphic Combat Illusion…

The Polymorphic Combat Illusion had been made with care by Cult officials, so it was natural that Jegal Sung couldn’t make that level of illusion with a few pebbles.

Even though the two illusions similarly reproduced life-like scenes, there would be a difference. 

As if proving his thoughts, the vision soon blurred. 

“Oh, and we’re out of time.”

As Jegal Sung looked around, the illusion of waves surrounding them disappeared in a flash. 

“Trying to embody all of nature’s rules in a small stone is no easy task.
But how was it?” Jegal Sung, who had been looking around at the remains of the illusion, turned to Woon-seong.
In his eyes, was a burst of pride.
“I would dare say that’s enough for me to call myself the Venerable Dragon.”

Woon-seong nodded.
“I’ll admit that.”

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The man was undeniably the Venerable Dragoon, Jegal Sung. 

More importantly, he was the person who could explain the truth to Woon-seong.  

“Then answer my questions now.”

“…”

Jegal Sung glanced at the Sage of the Bright Rock, who nodded, confirming that Woon-seong had the Fifth Jade Knife. 

Satisfied, he turned back to Woon-seong. 

“By the way, I’ve heard that you have inherited the Spear Master Sect’s martial arts.
Is that true?”

Woon-seong turned to question Myung Am, thinking that the Sage had already told Jegal Sang. 

However, the Sage quietly shook his head.
It was not him who delivered that information. 

There was only one other person who might have known. 

Lim Soo-yeon.
She must have told him. 

Although there had been a qi barrier while Woon-seong and the Sage talked, she might have heard part of the story. 

I wasn’t planning to hide it anyways.

Given that the Seventh Master knew, it was only a matter of time before the First Master found out. 

Woon-seong nodded and grabbed his spear.
“That’s true.”

At that, Jegal Sung smiled.
“Then prove it to me.”

“…?”

Jegal Sung glanced at Woon-seong, then at his spear.
“I’ve proven myself to be the Venerable Dragon.
Therefore I want you to prove yourself as the inheritor of the Spear Master Sect.”

Woon-seong chuckled.

Although it was not strictly a sole apprentice sect, very few people had the chance to see the Spear Master Sect in action.
Therefore, there was very little information about the sect known to Murim. 

Even if he demonstrated the art, very few people would even recognize it. 

Of course, the Sage of the Bright Rock had been able to recognize it, but that was only because of his friendship with Nok Yu-on.

“Would you even recognize it?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“…”

“The spear of the Spear Master Sect is like flowing water.
With spear strikes that flow abundantly like a river, it traps the opponent in a massive sea.
And the opponent, caught in this sea, struggles inside it, only to face their death.”

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Woon-seong’s eyebrow twitched.
Jegal Sung’s words had indeed pierced the core of the Spear Master Sect’s arts. 

“How do you know that?”

“Historically, the leader of the Spear Master Sect has served as the master of the Fifth Jade Knife.
I’ve heard about the skills of the Spear Master Sect from previous masters.”

Woon-seong had already known that his master, Nok Yu-on, was the owner of the Fifth Jade Knife. 

However, he hadn’t known that even the previous Spearmasters were also owners of the Fifth Jade Knife. 

That’s why you wanted to hand this down to me. Woon-seong touched the Fifth Jade Knife hanging at his waist. 

“So that’s what happened.”

With his other hand, he slowly moved the White Night Spear. 

“Then take a good look.”

Divine Spear of the Ending Night!

The godly spear which erased the darkness of the night. 

The spear arts, which had been developed from generation to generation, were once again in Woon-seong’s hands. 

The Spear Master Sect was a sect that had been studying and practicing spear arts for ages.

That was why the disciples of the Spear Master Sect were unparalleled in martial arts research and cultivation. 

Even if you searched the entire world, it would be hard to find a scholar comparable to a disciple of the Spear Master Sect. 

But the world was vast and people numerous. 

The Spear Master Sect could not be considered unparalleled. 

The Venerable Dragon for example, was a genius in his own right. 

The Jegal Clan had also studied countless martial arts and would continue to do so for generations to come.
That level of martial knowledge was likely comparable to the Spear Master Sect. 

Jegal Sung was the Grand Elder of the Jegal Clan.
He prided himself on understanding martial arts better than anyone else.
His eyes, thirsty for knowledge, observed Woon-seong’s movements. 

This… is quite the view. 

He is hiding the essence, but that is clearly the Divine Spear of the Ending Night of the Spear Master Sect. 

There were many spear skills that imitated the form of waves. 

But spear moves that created such powerful waves and created a great sea only existed in one place. 

And this man’s spear was creating a true great sea. 

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That was all Jegal Sung needed to see to believe that Woon-seong was an apprentice of the Spear Master Sect. 

Nevertheless, he examined Woon-seong’s razor-sharp spear. 

But it’s not completely the same.

If the former Spearmasters had pursued softness, the ‘Divine Spear of the Ending Night’ by Woon-seong contained vigor within that softness. 

It was a combination of strength and softness. 

Of course, Jegal Sung understood that martial arts changed gradually over time. 

Softness and its flexibility was compatible with strength. 

That was not the problem. 

The surprising thing was the young man’s age. 

So he developed the martial arts of the sect at such a young age… And I heard he’s from a branch sect.
Amazing. 

When Jegal Zung had first heard that the Sage of the Bright Rock, owner of the Seventh Jade Sword, had been defeated, he merely thought that Woon-seong was excellent. 

However, Woon-seong’s true talent far exceeded that estimation.

It’s not something one can perform without being a true veteran. 

If Jegal Sung saw ‘Flow of the Divine Dragon’, he would probably lose his mind.
Was he the one who achieved rejuvenation, or was it Woon-seong?

But Woon-seong did not show Flow of the Divine Dragon. 

Only the Divine Spear of the Ending Night was needed. 

It was not necessary to show Flow of the Divine Dragon in a place where he did not know the full story. 

Shh…

Soon, the spear stopped. 

The waves of spear qi, which had been spread around, stopped too. 

Woon-seong had decided that he had shown enough. 

Jegal Sung nodded.
“That is the spear skills of the Spear Master Sect alright.
You have the right to hear what you want from me.”

“Then…”

“But this is not the appropriate place to talk.
Let’s go inside first.”

Jegal Sung beckoned him towards the small wooden shack. 

[1] The Stone Sentinel Maze, or Eightfold Array, was an array of rocks and boulders thought to have been conjured by Zhuge Liang based on the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams.