I harnessed the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art. A meager handful of internal energy flowed into my hands.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art.
First Form: Ghost Hand, Lone Demon.

—Paaang!

A falling leaf split in half. It was a skill I couldn’t perform with bare hands before, and I felt immense satisfaction.

The pain that had enveloped my body eased a little as well. What used to pound my entire being to the point of sleeplessness now felt like a mild ache settled into every inch of my flesh.

Circumstances had changed. Before, I had to content myself with moss. Now, I could afford something more valuable.

My target was a snake slithering between the oddly shaped trees. I had attempted to catch it before but failed.

I waited patiently for my internal energy to replenish. When the time came, I lashed out like lightning.

—Shk!

The first strike missed. The snake leaped and bit my neck. I immediately grabbed it and slammed it to the ground, but its venom began to seep into me right away.

This wasn’t the first time. I had been bitten before, and the excruciating pain that followed was unforgettable. It wasn’t fatal, but the venom brought with it a cursed aftertaste that dredged up memories I wanted to forget.

“Son.”

I turned around. My father, hunched in the shadows, gestured toward me.

I approached him. His distorted figure wavered as his voice echoed from all directions.

“Shut up.”

I was no longer the person I once was. I wasn’t Jeok Woon anymore.

You’re just a ghost. Even if you were alive, I would think of you as nothing more than a wraith.

“You said you wanted to eat, didn’t you?”

A new voice spoke. I glanced toward a tree where the Heavenly Demon’s apparition peered at me from behind its trunk.

“Otherwise, you’ll be back to eating moss.”

The world swayed. Unable to keep my balance, I steadied myself against the tree.

Where had the snake gone? Which direction had it slithered off to?

I strained my ears but heard nothing. Snakes, by nature, moved silently.

But I focused.

“Good. That’s it.”

“...”

“Concentrate. Keep focusing. You have to climb higher.”

The apparition didn’t only torment me. Occasionally, it inspired moments of clarity like this.

“She’s waiting for you. At a height you can’t even dream of reaching.”

Would she have said such a thing? I didn’t know.

But there was only one thing for me to do.

Climb. Relentlessly, painfully, climb.

The bushes rustled. I used the last of my energy to unleash Ghost Hand, Lone Demon.

Something caught at my fingertips. This time, I snapped its neck before it could bite.

The snake went limp in my grasp. The Heavenly Demon’s apparition chuckled softly.

“You’d do well as a hunter.”

“I only hunt swords,” I muttered.

I looked for her again, but she was already gone.

Was the venom fading? The Heavenly Tribulation stirred, forcing the poison out of my body and through my skin.

I bit into the snake’s head. The taste of meat after two months was... tolerable.

It wasn’t delicious.

But it was better than moss.

“Wait for me, Cheon So-so,” I murmured to the invisible specter of the Heavenly Demon.

“I’m catching up. Always.”

After catching the snake, I hunted an unnamed beast. It resembled a squirrel but was far more vicious, leaving me with several wounds.

Its claws carried venom too, but the Heavenly Tribulation filtered it out. My injuries healed quickly, almost unnaturally.

If it weren’t for the constant pain, this mysterious entity inside me would be near perfect.

Every night, I felt my bones twisting, as though the Heavenly Tribulation had taken root and was reshaping my body to its liking.

To suit martial arts.
To learn anything.

But instinctively, I knew. Even if the Heavenly Tribulation altered my skeletal frame, it wouldn’t grant me talent.

Born martial artists were said to be brilliant, with senses sharper than ordinary people, capable of seeing things others couldn’t.

Compared to them, what was I? I wielded a sword but could only feel it with my hands. My internal energy was no more than a handful.

Fixing my frame wouldn’t suffice. I had to try harder.

I reduced my sleep, dedicating every spare moment to mastering the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Art.

Gradually, my internal energy grew. Surprisingly, the creatures I consumed in this Demonic Valley were akin to small elixirs.

Their blood, flesh, and bones.

Each carried potent demonic energy, though absorbing it meant enduring poison and agony. Thankfully, the Heavenly Tribulation spared me that.

All I had to do was eat, tear, and accumulate demonic energy. Of course, this wasn’t pure internal energy.

It was tainted, murky demonic energy—nothing like the refined energy of righteous sects. Its only advantage was overwhelming volume.

Its raw power would never match that of pure energy. Even at my peak, I’d avoid direct confrontation with a sword aura of equal rank.

But over time, my opponent would exhaust their energy first.

“Number Twenty-Nine. Number Thirty. Survival check.”

Twenty-Nine never spoke to me. That suited me just fine; I had no reason to engage her.

Though we were a pair, we remained strangers. After roll call, we’d part ways and only regroup for the next check-in.

I moved on from hunting squirrel-like creatures to birds with two legs. They were harder to catch and fiercer but worth the effort.

Everything edible in this place contained both poison and energy. The bigger the creature, the stronger the energy.

Simple logic: the more dangerous it was, the greater the reward.

I liked it here. Warm meals and comfortable rest were luxuries I never had to begin with.

This was more familiar than standing at a gate. Endurance was something I’d always known.

“Excuse me.”

During training, someone spoke to me. A man wearing a black hood with “Seventeen” stitched on his chest asked nervously, “What... do we eat here?”

Ah.

A newcomer.

That meant whoever was here before him was dead. I stared at him.

What had I done on my first day here? I recalled being met with hostility.

But...

I didn’t want to be like them.

So, I told him. I didn’t hunt for him, but I explained he could eat moss and drink water.

He bowed deeply in gratitude. Three days later, I saw him again. He was groaning in pain and froze the moment he saw me.

“How did you eat that moss?!”

I had warned him it was poisonous. Judging by his reaction, the pain must’ve been worse than I anticipated.

I didn’t quite understand but reassured him, “Endure it. You’ll get used to it.”

A week later, as I was about to enter the deeper forest, I met him again. This time, he hesitantly handed me something.

“Thank you... for before.”

It was a snake, still warm from being freshly killed.

For the first time, I received something in return.

I accepted it silently. He smiled brightly and introduced himself.

“I’m Seong Ja-myeong.”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you my name.”

“That’s fine. I just wanted to share mine.”

Seong Ja-myeong didn’t belong in the Demonic Sect. He repaid kindness, reached out to new recruits, and seemed to embody principles the righteous sects claimed to uphold.

“Give, and you’ll receive in turn. Besides... I don’t want to become a beast.”

He was steadfast yet gentle. It was rare to see someone like him, even among the righteous sects. I found myself taking notice of him.

He was a good man. That’s why, when I found him lying half-dead later, I couldn’t say a word.

“Hah...”

His abdomen bore a gaping sword wound. His entrails spilled out, beyond any hope of repair. Propped against a tree, he clung to life.

“Jeok Woon.”

He spoke weakly.

“I’ve shown you an awful sight, haven’t I?”

“...”

I crouched before him.