Absolute Regression - Chapter 3

I opened my eyes.

Throughout my life, I had opened and closed my eyes countless times, but never had I felt such desperation.

Please, let this be the moment when I can go back and undo everything.

Please!

And what lay before me was a spectacle, a reward for all the hardships I had endured before regressing.

I stood on a wide stage like a plaza.

Beyond the crowd of thousands of warriors filling the stands, I could see towering demonic statues. Red, blue, and yellow, these colossal demon statues clashed around the arena, their massive swords and fists serving as the unarmed fighters’ roof.

And beyond them, in the far distance, stood an even larger statue. Arms crossed arrogantly, the black demon statue was the symbol of the Celestial Demon Sect.

‘I’ve returned to the past!’

My heart began to race as if it would burst.

“Wow!”

Cheers erupted from all sides, as if celebrating my regression. The disciples of the Celestial Demon Sect filled the arena.

‘Come to think of it, today…’

At that moment, a man emerged on the opposite side and ascended onto the stage.

“It’s the day of the New Demon Duel.”

At that time, my father had announced rather suddenly that he would not limit the next leader of the sect to his own bloodline.

His announcement caused a stir within the sect. Now, anyone with the skills could potentially become a celestial demon.

As if to reinforce his announcement, my father organized a martial arts competition among the top disciples of the sect. That was the New Demon Duel.

And to the winner of the New Demon Duel, he offered the opportunity to challenge one of his two sons.

Regardless of who won between the winner and his son, the celestial demon would grant them one wish.

So you can imagine how intense the competition of the New Demon Duel was. Many young disciples of the sect participated eagerly, vying for the top spot.

After ten days of fierce battles, the winner of the competition emerged, and he chose me as his opponent.

“Swordless Supreme! Swordless Supreme!”

The warriors cheered my name. It was the name that the revenant had been so eager to find out. I was Swordless Supreme, the youngest of the celestial demon’s two sons.

As the warriors rallied behind Swordless Supreme, the winner of the competition, my opponent, scowled.

“Hmph! Once this match is over, you’ll be shouting a different name. No matter how great you think you are, I won’t go easy on you.”

At the time, I felt somewhat upset that he chose me. It meant he regarded me as an easier opponent than my brother.

But looking back, I realized there was another reason why he chose me.

“Would you consider surrendering now?”

The guy was already confident of his victory.

And indeed, I lost this martial arts duel.

It wasn’t because of lack of skill. It was due to the cunning strategy of my opponent. He had poisoned my food with a special type of dispersing poison called San Gong, which temporarily incapacitated my internal energy.

It wasn’t your typical poison. It remained dormant until activated by intense situations like martial arts combat, dispersing one’s internal energy. Later, I found out that it was a type of dispersing poison named Hei Fei, developed by the Sado Sect and secretly circulated in the market.

Nevertheless, after losing that day’s duel and revealing the truth to my father, he didn’t say much. Instead, I remember receiving a reproachful glance, questioning whether I had really fallen for such a cheap trick.

Afterwards, in my efforts to redeem myself from that defeat, I attempted various desperate measures.

My enemies weren’t my brother or other successors. My enemies were my own impatience and wounded pride. I could still recall the disdainful look in my father’s eyes whenever he saw me falter.

With each subsequent mistake and failure, I drifted further from the succession contention.

It all began with today’s defeat.

At the crossroads of destiny, my first words were:

“What was your name again?”

At that moment, laughter erupted around us, and my opponent’s expression hardened. He probably thought I was mocking him, but I genuinely couldn’t remember his name.

“Ignore me is the same as disrespecting our master!”

Oh, right. It was Gu Pyeong-ho.

Gu Pingho, the fifth disciple of the Blood Heavenly Blade Demon, one of the Eight Demon Lords. He must have won the New Demon Struggle by resorting to all sorts of underhanded tactics.

“Hey, speak properly. I’m ignoring you, not your master. Why bring him into this?”

Laughter erupted among the warriors, particularly those from the faction of the Ill Fate Sword Lord, who had a strained relationship with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

“You impudent brat! Seeing you poke at my nerves like this, you must be quite confident in your skills.”

Ignoring his words, I glanced towards the high seat where the Celestial Demon sat.

Even amidst thousands of warriors, he exuded a palpable presence, as if saying, ‘I am here.’

If someone were to bring a stranger here and ask them to find the Celestial Demon, they would undoubtedly pinpoint him. His presence felt like a crimson circle amidst black and white sketches.

On either side of him were the representatives of the sect, the Eight Demon Lords. While they deferred to him by his side, they too possessed formidable presence.

As our gazes met, I sensed the message in my father’s eyes:

“How will you overcome this obstacle?”

Back then, I never felt such a gaze before.

…It seems Father already knew I was affected by the San Gong poison.

Despite pretending not to know about the succession dispute, he must have been fully aware. Similar events were unfolding from the past, but the circumstances were entirely different.

He knew everything, didn’t he? In that case…

In the past, reacting after being affected was the worst strategy, while delaying the match was the middle ground. Winning without relying on inner strength was the best strategy.

I wasn’t the naive youngster I once was. I had lived a much longer life than my father.

In truth, facing Gu Pyeong-ho without inner strength would be child’s play.

However, I couldn’t display my true strength in front of so many warriors.

Raising my hand high, I attracted everyone’s attention.

Then, I spoke as loudly as possible.

“In this gathering of the sect’s heroes, I declare boldly that I will face Gu Pyeong-ho without using inner strength! I am confident in winning even without relying on inner strength!”

After my declaration, a moment of silence ensued, followed by thunderous cheers.

“Wow!”

On the other hand, Gu Pyengo-ho’s face contorted with surprise. He was probably wondering how I found out about the San Gong poison. After all, it only manifests during combat.

Are you that curious?

Anyway, using inner strength alone in this situation would make me appear dishonorable.

Amidst his confusion, Gu Pyeong-ho shouted with a trembling voice, “If this gentleman chooses not to use inner strength, then I shall do the same.”

As expected, his followers clapped, but there was no cheer. His decision turned the anticipated battle between those with inner strength and those without into a dull affair. Even the sound of exasperated sighs could be heard.

Gu Pyeon-ho’s confusion turned into anger towards me. “This gentleman! Even if you don’t use inner strength, you’d better be careful, for my sword does not discriminate.”

Ignoring his warning, I assessed my body. A strange unfamiliar sensation dominated my young body. The sword I wielded at the time felt as light as a toy.

“Will this body really follow my intentions?”

As Gu Pyeong-ho confidently drew his sword, I, on the contrary, sheathed mine and placed it on the ground. It seemed that using the sword would only increase the chances of revealing my true skill.

Then, the cheers erupted once more. Isn’t it the nature of the martial artists to cheer when someone is thoroughly ignoring and mocking their opponents?

Naturally, Gu Pyeong-ho’s anger exploded.

“Though I won’t dare to kill the descendant of our sect’s leader, I’ll take one of your arms!”

Finishing his words menacingly, Gu Pyeong-ho leaped towards me, narrowing the distance between us and aiming for my shoulder with his sword.

Swish!

I watched the flying sword until the last moment and then twisted my body to evade it.

“All right, good!”

It felt like my body was responding to my will. It moved immediately, faster and more agile than I anticipated. It was as if my body was saying,

— Did you forget? This is you in your youth, isn’t it?

It felt like I could run all day long and my clenched fist seemed like it could smash anything in its path.

“Wow, at this age, my heart is pounding so vigorously!” I couldn’t help but laugh. I was so happy; I felt like shouting with joy.

Seeing me smile, Gu Pyeong-ho went even more berserk.

“Is this crazy guy laughing?”

With his eyes rolling back, Gu Pyeong-ho blatantly aimed for my vital spot with his sword. Knowing he could unleash his internal energy to project his sword at any moment, I didn’t delay any further.

“!”

I dodged the flying sword aimed at cutting my arm and surged forward toward his chest.