What is your third wish?
I opened my eyes.
I’ve opened and closed my eyes countless times in my life, but never has it been this desperate.
I wish we could go back to the time when everything could be reversed.
please!
And what unfolded before my eyes was a sight that compensated for all the hardships I had endured before returning.
I was standing on a wide stage like a plaza.
Beyond the thousands of warlords who filled the audience, gigantic demon statues were visible. The red, blue, and yellow demon statues were in the shape of clashing with each other around the martial arts field. Their huge swords, swords, and fists served as the roof of the unarmed area.
And beyond that, in the distance, an even larger statue could be seen standing tall. The black demon statue with its arms folded and looking down at the world with pride was the symbol of the Cheonmasingyo (Heavenly Demon Sect).
‘Back to the past!’
My heart started pounding like it was going to burst.
“Wow!”
As if celebrating my return, cheers could be heard from all directions. The demons of the Heavenly Demon Sect were filling the training grounds.
‘Come to think of it, today is!’
Just then, a man came up onto the stage from across the street.
‘It’s the day of the new demon fight.’
Around this time, my father made a surprise announcement that he would not limit the next leader to his own blood relatives.
The announcement stirred up a frenzy in the school. Now, if you have the skills, you can become a great student.
As if to give strength to his announcement, the father held a contest for the students who were the best in school. That was the Shinmajaengtu.
And the winner of the Shinma Jangtu was given the chance to challenge one of your two sons.
Whoever wins between the champion and his son, Cheonma will grant him one wish.
So how hot must the heat have been in the Shinmajeongtu? A large number of young scholars from the school participated and competed against each other.
After ten days of fierce competition, the winner of the competition emerged, and the opponent he had chosen was me.
“Sword dance without limits! Sword dance without limits!”
The warlords called my name. It was the name that the nobleman so desperately wanted to know. I am Geommu-geuk, the youngest of the two sons of Cheonma.
As the warlords cheered for the sword dance, the winner of the competition, Bimu Sangdae, frowned deeply.
“Huh! After this match is over, the names you shout will change. Even you won’t be spared.”
At the time, I felt bad that he chose me. It meant that he thought of me more easily than my brother.
But in hindsight, there was another reason why he chose me.
“How about abstaining now?”
He was already confident of victory.
Actually, I lost this fight.
It wasn’t because I lacked skill. It was because of my opponent’s petty scheme. My opponent had enlisted my kitchen assistant to temporarily poison my food with a san-gong-dok (散功毒) that would render me unable to use my internal energy.
It wasn’t a normal mountain air poison. It was a special mountain air poison that was completely harmless when left alone, but when it became an intense situation like a rainstorm, it would scatter internal energy. I found out later. It was a mountain air poison called Heukbi (黑妃) that Sadomaeng had developed and was secretly distributing on the market.
Anyway, after losing that day, I told my father about it, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, I remember him giving me a look of reproach, asking if I had been fooled by that trick.
After that, I threw several random moves in succession to recover from today’s defeat.
At that time, my enemy was not my brother or other candidates for succession. My enemy was impatience and wounded pride. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could recall my father’s pitiful gaze.
A series of mistakes and failures led me to trip over my own feet and get sidetracked from the fight for succession.
It all started with today’s defeat.
My first words at that fateful crossroads were these.
“What was your name?”
In that moment, laughter erupted from all around, and the other person’s expression hardened. He probably thought he was making fun of me, but I really couldn’t remember his name.
“Ignoring me, Gu Ping-ho, is the same as insulting Master!”
“Oh, that’s right. It was Gupyeongho.”
Gu Pyeong-ho, the fifth of the seven disciples of Gu Cheon-pa, the Bloody Heavenly Sword Demon, one of the Eight Demon Lords. Although we may not know it, he probably won the Shinma Battle by using all sorts of cowardly tricks.
“Look, you should speak straight. I’m ignoring you, so why are you dragging your master into this?”
In an instant, laughter erupted among the warlords. It was the laughter of the Ilhwageomjon (一花劍尊) side, who were not on good terms with the Bloodthirsty Demon.
“You Confucius! It seems you are confident in your abilities since you are provoking me like this.”
I ignored his words and looked at Cheonma, who was sitting far away on the high seat.
Even in a place where there were thousands of mines, he showed a clear presence that said, ‘I am here.’
If you bring someone who doesn’t know his father and tell him to find the Heavenly Horse here, he will definitely find his father. His father’s presence was like seeing a blood-red circle in a black and white picture.
On either side of my father were the eight masters representing our school, the Palmazones. They were just humble because my father was by their side, but they too had a powerful presence.
My eyes met with my father’s. I read these thoughts in his eyes directed at me.
How on earth are you going to get out of this predicament?
It was a look in my eyes that I had never felt at that time.
‘Ah! Father already knew that I was poisoned by the mountain spirits.’
He pretended not to care and was unaware of the succession dispute, but I thought he was aware of it all.
I could tell that the same events as in the past were happening, but it was a completely different situation.
‘You knew everything? Then… … .’
It is a bad policy to report after being treated like before.
It is a grave policy to postpone the match since we have been poisoned by the mountain air.
The best strategy is to win without any internal energy.
Of course, I should use my best strategy. I wasn’t the punk with the messy hair back then. I’ve lived a much longer life than my father.
In fact, even if you fight someone like Gu Pyeong-ho without any internal energy, he is just an enemy that can be summoned in one go.
But I couldn’t show off my skills in front of all these people.
I raised my hand high and got everyone’s attention.
And then he said as loudly as he could.
“I will proudly say this in front of all the heroes of our school. I will face Gu Pyeong-ho without using my internal energy! I am confident that I can win without using my internal energy!”
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There was a moment of silence at my announcement, but soon a thunderous roar erupted.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
On the other hand, Gu Pyeong-ho’s face was distorted. He didn’t expect me to act like this. He must be asking me this.
-How did you know that I was poisoned by the mountain air? It’s a mountain air poison that only comes out when a fight breaks out.
Are you really that curious?
Anyway, in this situation, if I use my internal energy alone, I will be a coward.
Gu Pyeong-ho shouted with a flushed face, overcome with embarrassment.
“If this Confucius comes out like that, I won’t use my internal energy either.”
He reacted just as I expected.
A few of his followers applauded, but there was no cheering. That choice turned the thrilling fight between those with and without internal energy into a boring fight for those without internal energy. Even a sigh of relief could be heard.
Gu Pyeong-ho was embarrassed, and his embarrassment led to anger towards me.
“You Confucius! Even if you don’t use your internal energy, you’d better be careful because my sword doesn’t have eyes.”
I ignored the bastard’s warning and examined my body. The strange feeling of being young was taking over me. The sword I was using at the time felt as light as a toy.
‘Will this body really follow my thoughts?’
Gu Pyeong-ho pulled out his sword with great momentum, but I, on the other hand, released my sword and placed it on the ground. After all, if I used my sword, there was a higher chance that my skills would be revealed.
Then the cheers erupted again. Wasn’t it the nature of the Minds to cheer when they thoroughly ignored and mocked their opponents?
Naturally, Gu Pyeong-ho’s anger exploded.
“I won’t kill you since you are the cult leader’s blood relative, but I will give you one of your arms!”
As soon as I finished speaking, Gu Pyeong-ho strode towards me, closed the distance between us, and slashed at my shoulder with his sword.
Oh my god!
I watched the flying arrow until the very end, and then twisted the new shape at the last moment to dodge it.
‘Okay, okay!’
I was worried that my body would move as I wanted. It responded immediately, faster and more vigorously than I expected. It seemed like my body was saying this.
– Have you forgotten? This is you when you were younger?
There was a time when I felt like I could run all day and my clenched fists would crush anything I put my hands on.
‘At this age, my heart beat so fast and powerfully!’
I couldn’t help but laugh. I was so happy I wanted to scream.
Gu Pyeong-ho became even crazier when he saw my smile.
“Is this crazy kid laughing?”
Gu Pyeong-ho, whose eyes were rolled back, swung his sword, aiming at the vital point openly. Since he was a guy who could use his internal energy to unleash his sword, he didn’t waste any more time.
I dodged the sword that was persistently flying towards me to cut off my arm and rushed into the bastard’s chest.
Gu Pyeong-ho defended himself while exhaling in a hurry, but my elbow was already lodged in the bastard’s groin.
puck!
He followed Gu Pyeong-ho, who was bouncing back, like a shadow.
My fists struck him repeatedly. The first quick blow sank his nose, and the second heavy punch broke his ribs. Even if we don’t use our internal energy, we are martial artists who have trained since we were young. We can even kill a cow with our bare fists, but his body couldn’t handle it.
I didn’t end up like this.
I grabbed the wrist of the man who was falling down with a scream.
“Which hand did you use to dissolve the poison? Was it this hand?”
I jumped up while holding onto the bastard’s arm, then struck him in the leg.
Bang.
With the strength that ran up my entire body from the soles of my feet, I used my knees as leverage to break the bastard’s arm.
Kkwaddddddddddddd!
The shock wave that came like a tidal wave completely crushed my wrist, elbow, and shoulder.
“Eww!”
Even without the horrible screams, everyone could tell that the arm and shoulder on the sword were completely crushed, so there was no way back.
Shouts erupted from all directions.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!”
It was a victory with a lot to see, not a sloppy match, so it satisfied everyone.
The men on the Bloodthirsty Horse side jeered, but they were drowned out by the unstoppable cheers.
The Bloodthirsty Demon sitting in the middle of the room didn’t show any reaction to his disciple being destroyed and just watched the situation.
When the heat, the shouts, and the groans of pain subsided, my father finally got up from his seat. The red dragon embroidered on his pure white robe looked ready to ascend to heaven at any moment.
The Palmazones who were together all stood up at the same time.
Choaaaaaaah.
As if in a wave, all the people in the room rose from their seats and bowed to the Absolute Being.
Cheonma Geomwoojin (Sword Ujin).
The strongest of this era.
… … As of yet.
My father looked at me. His gaze was so powerful that it seemed as if it would pierce through my body.
At that time, I was so scared of my father. I don’t think I’ve ever properly looked him in the eye, especially with those intense eyes that seemed to look down on people. So how could I have had a proper conversation with him?
Ultimately, my perception of my father was based on guesses, preconceptions, and rumors.
I want to say this to my past self.
Don’t imagine human relationships alone. Look straight ahead and listen carefully. The answer is not inside you. The other person is out there.
I didn’t avoid my father’s gaze.
What’s so scary about that expression? There’s just one person trying not to lose the authority to rule over all demons amidst countless challenges and schemes that are after his position. That’s why he’s so heartless and blunt. Now I can see things I couldn’t see back then.
“What is your wish?”
My father’s deep, deep voice could be heard by everyone even without the skill, and it had the power to intimidate those who listened to it.
Everyone listened attentively to my answer. Especially the Palmazones next to me were on edge to see what kind of answer I would give.
“My wish is… … .”
I didn’t expect to come back today, so I followed my instincts.
“I want to go hunting with my father.”
Father flinched at the unexpected words. The people watching also murmured. They had never thought that he would say such a wish. Since he would not grant his wish to become the successor, he had expected that he would at least want a sword or a martial arts manual.
“Hunting with me?”
“Yes. Just with my father. I heard that my father enjoyed hunting when he was young. I would like to learn how to hunt through this opportunity.”
My father stared at me silently for a moment before speaking bluntly.
“Departure is tomorrow morning.”
After finishing speaking, my father started walking.
In the black and white picture, a red horse walked alone, and all the minions lowered their heads. In the place where thousands of people had gathered, not even a sound of breathing could be heard.
As Cheonma and Palmajon left the place, the poisonous voice was finally heard.
“You idiot. Just to ask for something like that… … .”
When I looked back, I saw Gu Pyeong-ho being carried by his disciples with his arms hanging down.
I scratched my head and said to the guy.
“Sorry. What was your name?”
Gu Pyeong-ho, who was ignored until the end, became angry.
“Eww! Kill that guy! Execute! Please kill him!”
But no one rushed at me after the fight was over. They just glared at me coldly and left the place with Gu Pyeong-ho.
‘Now that I’m back, your lives won’t be fun anymore.’
I was grateful to Heaven for sending me to the most important turning point in my life. I was also grateful to the spirit who had perfected the Great Law, even though he had tried to betray me.
‘Thank you so much.’
I looked up at the blue sky, just like my age, and smiled brightly.
