Chronicles of the Reincarnated Demon God

Chapter 1: Yeon Un-hwi, the Lesser Heavenly Demon

Long, silky hair cascaded down to his waist.

A pair of languid eyes that held a decadent gaze.

He was a young man boasting such beautiful features that one might believe he was a pretty girl if he dressed as one.

Yet, no one living in the Tianshan Mountain Range dared to speak so carelessly about him.

—The Grandmaster of Sorcery.

—The King of Wandering Spirits in Nine Heavens.

—Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

And so on.

The titles and epithets referring to him were as numerous as the stars in the sky.

—Yeon Un-hwi, the Lesser Heavenly Demon.

The young lord of the Heavenly Demon Cult, which considered as the strongest single faction in the martial world.

Naturally, anyone in the martial world, regardless of affiliation, had to be cautious even of his gaze.

But the biggest reason for their fear was actually something else.

“Is this all you’ve got, Martial Uncle? This is quite disappointing for your nephew.”

Look at that poison.

Even after drinking copious amounts of Ghost Fire Poison, said to melt an ox with just a small dose, he not only didn’t collapse but instead exuded ghostly flames from his eyes. His cold sneer was enough to chill one’s very core just by looking at it.

Scattered at his feet were empty liquor bottles and the lifeless bodies of over a dozen elite assassins, their foreheads pierced cleanly.

The fact that he had accomplished all this despite his poor physical condition clearly illustrated what kind of person Yeon Un-hwi was.

A venomous snake.

He’s a young man who had seized control of the cult and became the Young Lord using only his special gift despite his inability to learn martial arts because of his constitution. People’s assessment of him was simple:

—If he smiles, run without looking back. It simply means you’re fucked.

—Catch his eye, and he will become an umbrella that protects you for life. If you can, that is.

‘It’s always been like this. I don’t know if he was born with a nasty temper or if his poor health twisted his personality.’

Tsk!

Vice Lord Cheon Ha-jin, who had orchestrated this situation, was thoroughly displeased with all of this.

There was a time when Yeon Un-hwi had gone on an inspection tour to the Central Plains.

Somehow, words of it got out, and a young Taoist from the Wudang Sect kept following and pestering him.

In response, Yeon Un-hwi plucked out all of the Taoist’s hair and threw him into the Shaolin Temple grounds, saying they should get along well as fellow baldies, causing an uproar in the martial world.

It was so difficult to clean up the mess.

The problem was that this was just a small example.

Besides this, Yeon Un-hwi has caused numerous incidents and accidents.

It was always like this.

Yeon Un-hwi caused trouble, and Cheon Ha-jin had to clean his mess.

The problem was that Yeon Un-hwi’s bold and unrestrained actions were steadily gaining support among the young members of the sect.

Cheon Ha-jin could no longer stand by and watch the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult be ruined by his reckless martial nephew.

“Indeed. I tried to teach my nephew a lesson for the first time, but it didn’t go well. I’m ashamed.”

“If only my body weren’t so sickly, I would have blown a refreshing hole in your head just like them, Martial Uncle. Such a shame.”

“I, too, find it regrettable that things didn’t go as intended.”

Cheon Ha-jin responded casually while inwardly grinding his teeth.

He couldn’t allow this rootless bastard to continue running his mouth as he pleased any longer. The groundwork was already complete anyway.

Yeon Un-hwi’s bodyguards had long been eliminated.

The elders had been persuaded; they did not want a sect leader who could not even learn the cult’s secret techniques.

Approval from ‘above’ had also been granted.

All that remained now was the elimination.

Splash! Splash!

Cheon Ha-jin began walking across the floor, which was littered with corpses and soaked in blood.

No matter how displeased he was, there was still a bond of junior and elder between them.

He was still the proud Young Lord of the Heavenly Demon Sect.

So, Cheon Ha-jin decided he could at least give Yeon Un-hwi the courtesy of finishing him with his own hands.

* * *

Master.

Was this all the reward for the trust you spoke of until my ears were calloused?

You are truly naive.

Look.

In the end, just as I said, that damn bastard has stabbed us in the back like this, hasn’t he?

That’s what I’d like to tell my Master, who is still deep in slumber at the Heavenly Demon Palace.

The Divine Sword Heavenly Demon.

If only he hadn’t fallen into Qi Deviation while researching grand techniques to heal his unworthy disciple’s damaged Dantian, that bastard wouldn’t have had the chance to get so cocky.

I was born with a damaged dantian and fated to never learn martial arts.

That’s why I never practice even the most basic breathing techniques.

But whether it was fortune amidst misfortune or an even greater misfortune piled on top, I had a unique talent different from others.

—The Eyes of the Dead.

I could see dead people.

No, not just dead people.

I could communicate with and sometimes command what people call supernatural beings—things that people often referred to as ghosts and monsters.

That’s when Master discovered me.

‘You’re not merely unique. You’re special.’

I still remember that day.

The day Master extended his hand to me, a trash abandoned under a bridge after being beaten by neighborhood kids for lying about seeing things again.

‘Since the ‘Tower’ appeared beyond the sky, there have been children born with extraordinarily developed upper dantians or unique spiritual roots like yours. So that talent isn’t a curse. It’s a blessing.’

Special.

Blessing.

Those words were like magic to someone like me, who had always lived with the agony of not knowing why I existed.

‘And those children, being as exceptional as they were, always accomplished extraordinary things. You will, too.’

‘Really…?’

‘Yes. So, will you follow me? This old man will help you become more special than anyone else in the world.’

After that, I began learning various arts under Master that could utilize my talent of the Eyes of the Dead.

Yin-Yang Arts, divination, geomancy, as well as secret techniques of unorthodox paths, astrology and demonology from the distant Western Regions, and even the secret rites of the Zoroastrian that pursued immortality.

More relentless than anyone else. More ruthless than anyone else.

Though I couldn’t wield a sword like Master, I was willing to do anything if it could aid his reign.

Amid countless prejudices and accusations, I endured solely with the desire to be like Master.

Thus, I was able to outdo all the successors of the Nine Great Demon Sects and Seventy-Two Evil Gates that supported the Heavenly Demon Sect and take this position…

But it seemed that even such an achievement would end today.

“Before I go, let me ask one thing, Martial Uncle.”

A smile played on the lips of the bastard slowly approaching me—a victor’s smile.

The desire to smash that face bloomed in my heart.

“What is it?”

“Who’s the mastermind behind instigating you, Senior Uncle? There’s no way you, with your guts the size of a sesame seed, could orchestrate such a grand plan. There must be a rat pulling the strings behind you, right?”

Cheon Ha-jin’s face contorted quite satisfyingly.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Removing you from power was decided by me and the elders-”

“Bullshit. You don’t have the balls for that, you know?”

“You bastard!!”

Two emotions were evident on his increasingly distorted face.

Dismay.

And inferiority.

This was always the kind of person he was.

A pathetic wretch who couldn’t even meet Master’s eyes and just kept his head down when Master was well.

“Who is it? The Master of Black Bone Ghost Valley? The Lord of Thunderclap Blood Gate? Or the Leader of the Demonic Path? Or is it someone I don’t know?”

“…!”

“A third party, then. There was a hidden mastermind. Don’t tell me they’re also responsible for what happened to Master?”

“Shut up!!”

Kwaaaang!

Cheon Ha-jin, seemingly deciding he couldn’t take it anymore, tried to snap my neck with his Black Jade Palm Technique.

With this, I was certain.

My Master and I—what happened to us was all orchestrated by someone manipulating things from behind the scenes. Their goal was to swallow up the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

Needless to say, I had no intention of submitting so easily.

“Even if you kill me, there’s one fact you should have remembered, Martial Uncle.”

Crack!

My neck twisted under Cheon Ha-jin’s rough grip.

A horrific sound of bones breaking and intense pain followed.

But I laughed.

Cheon Ha-jin’s face paled for a moment.

The sight of me still talking with a twisted neck must have seemed grotesque to him.

Then, belatedly realizing what I was aiming for, he turned pale.

“You bast-”

Too late, you fool.

“The Holy Artifact, the Demonic Dragon Sword, isn’t just any artifact. It is said to be the supreme demonic artifact left behind by the First Heavenly Demon.”

I placed my hand on the Demonic Dragon Sword I had kept by my side.

The Cult Leader’s sacred artifact that Master always told me to keep on hand in case of emergency.

It was an object filled with memories…

…Never did I imagine I’d have to destroy it with my own hands.

The moment all my spiritual power from my Upper Dantian was sucked into it, the Demonic Dragon Sword shattered like glass into countless pieces along with its sheath.

Crash!

The pale faces of Cheon Ha-jin, as well as the Demon Shadow Squad and the elders behind him, were all reflected in the countless shards of the black blade scattering through the air.

Even my face, grinning like a demon.

Spirit Explosion Hell Flame Ritual.

“So-”

A technique that burns souls to draw hellfire into the world.

Considering I used the sect’s greatest demonic artifact as a sacrifice, the resulting power must be tremendous. At the very least, it should be enough to blow away the Lesser Heaven Peak where the Young Lord’s Palace is located, right?

“Die, all of you.”

—!

At that moment, the world was dyed white.

* * *

My consciousness slowly faded away.

…

Are they all dead?

They probably are.

I’d have to acknowledge their skill if anyone survived such an explosion.

However, that doesn’t mean I can close my eyes in peace.

Master is still lying in the Heavenly Demon Palace, and I haven’t found out who the mastermind is.

It was difficult to rest in peace, not knowing when their evil hands would reach out again.

So I had to find a way.

A way to come back to life.

But with my body completely disintegrated in the explosion, it’s impossible to be reborn as Yeon Un-hwi again.

Then there’s only one way left.

—What if I wake up in a different body?

Among the Grand Techniques of the ancient Zoroastrian, there’s one called the Primordial Spirit’s Wheel of Reincarnation.

A Grand Technique created by the leaders of the fire-worshiping cult to transfer their souls into fresh bodies when facing death from old age or injury.

But eight or nine out of ten attempts failed, and even if successful, they ultimately died due to the dissonance between soul and body, so it was classified as taboo.

But I had no reason to avoid this.

If I fail, I die anyway, and if I succeed… I’ll get a new chance.

A chance to save Master.

A chance to find and eliminate the mastermind.

Conveniently, there was residual demonic energy from the Demonic Dragon Sword’s left over from the explosion.

While controlling that… I slowly reached out into the air, or rather, where I imagined it might be.

Suddenly, a single beam of light descended from the blackened sky, touching the tips of my outstretched fingers.

As I lost consciousness, I thought about how that scene resembled my name, Un-wi (雲輝), which means “light in the clouds.”

It was also the name I received on the day I first met Master.

***