Chapter 3
Generally, when one would think of a "cave containing the fortuitous encounter of the Martial God, the Greatest of All Time," they would imagine a place guarded by numerous mechanical traps and formations.
Then after overcoming all those difficult obstacles, one would expect to find a dazzling and magnificent site at the end that would leave them awestruck.
However...
"Ugh, this is truly maddening."
For some reason, as Yeo Un-hwi ventured deeper into this cave, the passage grew increasingly narrow until he was forced to crawl.
The stifling, musty odor made it hard to breathe. Thick dust floated in the air, and the impossibly narrow tunnel seemed endless.
It was definitely not something one would do in their right mind.
Even though he had experienced this once before, it was still just as unpleasant.
His entire body was now covered in dirt, but Yeo Un-hwi paid no mind and continued to move diligently.
It certainly didn't look like anything befitting a legendary site. It was more akin to a mole's burrow.
But it was precisely because of this that Yeo Un-hwi had unhesitatingly hidden here in his past life.
Back then, he never imagined that 'it' would be at the end of this tunnel.
"Phew."
Unlike his past life as the formidable Blood Demon, Yeo Un-hwi now had the body of a mere scholar. He was completely drenched in sweat just from this.
After crawling for what felt like an eternity, he finally spotted a faint light filtering through the dirt ahead.
"Huff, huff, huff."
At last, he had arrived.
At the end of this accursed cave.
It was a small stone chamber.
Just large enough for a single adult man to barely occupy.
And there...
_Wooong._
It was.
A skeleton, sitting in a dignified posture.
Its clothes had rotted away to rags.
Yet the skeleton seemed to emit an extraordinary aura.
Even though it had clearly breathed its last hundreds of years ago.
_Undoubtedly, this was..._
"The Martial God... is it?"
Hyeok Jong-hu, the Martial God, the Greatest of All Time.
The absolute being said to have reached a realm unmatched by anyone else in the history of the martial world.
Who would have thought that the final resting place of such an absolute being would be in this narrow and humble stone chamber?
What could have possibly transpired?
And what thoughts led this person to leave behind their power in such a manner?
Thinking back, there were no mechanical traps, formations, or sorceries protecting this place. Yeo Un-hwi had simply crawled in here.
_By sheer chance._
Yet, amusingly, he was the only one to have found this place in all those hundreds of years.
As if Yeo Un-hwi had been destined to be here from the very beginning.
For some reason, he found himself lost in thought, unlike in his past life.
_Come to think of it, was this place always like this?_
When Yeo Un-hwi had found this place in his past life, his wounds had been quite severe, and he was out of his mind with the sole thought of survival.
He hadn't had the presence of mind to examine the place carefully.
Naturally, he hadn't given it much thought either.
He had simply concluded that he had unintentionally arrived at some strange place.
So, without thinking, he had reached out his hand.
Towards the golden sphere floating in front of the skeleton of the Martial God.
In his past life, many had assumed that Yeo Un-hwi had obtained and cultivated the Martial God's secret manual.
But that wasn't the case.
Yeo Un-hwi had simply obtained it.
That mysterious golden sphere.
"Phew. Well then..."
Yeo Un-hwi appeared inexplicably tense.
After taking a deep breath, he slowly extended his hand towards the sphere.
Just like before.
_Wooong._
Soon, the sphere slowly floated towards him and was instantly absorbed into his chest.
And then...
_...Here it comes._
_Gurgle-! Gurgle-!_
Something began to change within Yeo Un-hwi's body.
The blood vessels throughout his body began to bulge unnaturally, and then,
"Ugh, kuuuh..."
_Shwaaaaaaaaa!_
A brilliant light began to pour out from his entire body, making every blood vessel visible.
"Kuhk... Kuaaaaa!"
Yeo Un-hwi soon lost consciousness amidst the excruciating pain.
This, too, was exactly the same as before.
"...It's all over."
Thousands, no, tens of thousands of corpses were strewn about everywhere.
The stench of blood was overwhelming, enough to drive a person mad.
This place truly deserved to be called hell more than anywhere else.
"Is it over, you say?"
In the center of this horrific battlefield, two men were glaring at each other with murderous intent.
However, one of them, wearing a black robe embroidered with a magnificent dragon, was already sitting on the ground, having lost an arm and a leg.
"No, it's not over yet."
He looked as though he could die at any moment.
Despite this, the man's face was remarkably calm.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Even if... it's not now, it doesn't matter. The Black Darkness will surely, surely rise again. And by then..."
The man in the dragon robe pointed at the one who had severed his arm and leg.
"You won't be around. Kekek."
"That's when the era of Black Darkness will truly come. Along with a blood calamity incomparable to now! Will you be able to stop us then? Kuhahahahaha!"
As the man burst into maniacal laughter, a blade flashed towards him.
_Thud._
_Roll, roll, roll._
The head of the man in the dragon robe fell and rolled away.
But the face of the man who had survived to the very end was not bright.
_Mmm._
Yeo Un-hwi slowly opened his eyes.
_What on earth was that? A dream?_
He had already experienced absorbing the shining sphere and losing consciousness before.
That's why he had been somewhat prepared this time.
But he had no memory of having such a strange dream.
_Why?_
Was it because his mind had been unstable back then, so he couldn't remember?
That couldn't be. No... honestly, he wasn't sure.
In any case, it felt far too vivid to be just a dream.
Who was that man in the black dragon robe? And what was the Black Darkness?
But one thing seemed clear.
The man who had survived to the very end and cut down everything.
That was undoubtedly the Martial God.
The martial art he used was one Yeo Un-hwi knew well.
_The Heavenly Martial Divine Art._
It was both the Martial God's martial art and the one Yeo Un-hwi had learned in his past life.
Though he had only mastered two-tenths of it.
Which meant...
_Could it be that those were the Martial God's memories?_
It was strange.
Did the sphere he had absorbed not only transmit the Martial God's martial arts and internal energy but also his memories?
But why hadn't this happened in his past life?
Come to think of it, the skeleton had completely crumbled away, leaving no trace behind.
There didn't seem to be any writing left anywhere in the stone chamber either.
_Hmm._
There were far too many unknowns at the moment.
But then...
"Ugh."
An indescribably horrible stench of decay assaulted his nose.
The smell was emanating from every corner of Yeo Un-hwi's body.
_Huh, why?_
It seemed to be from the waste coming out of his body.
This phenomenon had occurred in his past life too after absorbing the Martial God's sphere.
As his body was completely reconstructed, all the accumulated waste in his body was expelled.
This was undoubtedly what they called,
_Bone marrow cleansing, wasn't it?_
If other martial artists saw this, they would be utterly shocked.
To think that simply absorbing an unknown sphere left behind by a master from hundreds of years ago could not only impart internal energy and martial arts but also cause bone and marrow cleansing.
How could such an impossible thing happen?
But here was someone who had experienced this impossible thing twice.
"This is why I came prepared."
Yeo Un-hwi quickly removed his clothes, now soaked with sweat and waste products, practically turned to garbage, and wiped his body with the towel he had brought.
Then he took out clean clothes from his bundle and put them on.
"Phew. Now I feel a bit better."
He felt lighter in both body and mind.
These were the benefits of regression.
He could know in advance and prepare for everything.
Currently, the Heavenly Martial Divine Art he had naturally learned through the absorbed sphere was at the first level.
In his past life, after all his tribulations, he had ultimately only reached the second level.
It was a realm he had reached naturally through countless battles, without separate cultivation.
Even so, with just that, he had been able to hold his own against most of the strong figures in the martial world.
With just the second level.
It wasn't for nothing that the Heavenly Martial Divine Art was called the greatest martial art of all time.
It had simply met an undeserving owner.
Yeo Un-hwi had been the problem, it was like using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken.
But in this life, that wouldn't happen again.
And...
_I should take it to its absolute limits if possible._
If he could do that, it would surely be more than enough to protect his family.
The safety of his family—that was all Yeo Un-hwi desired for now.
Yeo Un-hwi then quickly made his way out of the cave.
Much faster than when he had entered.
Surprisingly, not a speck of dirt clung to his body.
He had entered as a weak scholar, but he was leaving as a master of his generation.
It was nothing short of a miracle for such a change to occur in less than half a month.
_Rumble-! Rumble-!_
Not long after Yeo Un-hwi emerged from the cave, it collapsed.
As if it had completed its long-standing mission.
Yeo Un-hwi gazed at the collapsed cave for a moment before bowing towards it.
_Thank you. Thanks to this power, I believe I can protect my family. If there ever comes a day when I can repay this in some way, I will do so with all my heart._
Though no one was watching, Yeo Un-hwi's gratitude was sincere.
He felt he had to do at least this much.
Even with his regression, without the Martial God's fortuitous encounter, Yeo Un-hwi would have only felt dread and uncertainty about the future ahead.
But thanks to the Heavenly Martial Divine Art, Yeo Un-hwi no longer feared the future.
How could he not be grateful?
"Well then, shall we go?"
After finishing his bow and standing up, Yeo Un-hwi lightly tapped his toes on the ground.
It was time to return home.