The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Countless people were gathering at the huge martial arts arena where the martial arts competition would be held.

In the meantime, while the Yellow Dragon Festival was held frequently, the Crimson Lotus Festival had never been held, so it was a situation that attracted a lot of people’s attention.

As if to prove that, not only the noble elders but also the sedentary senior elders revealed themselves.

It wasn’t simply because of the interest the Crimson Lotus Festival had. They wanted to watch.

They wanted to see who the daughter of the Righteous Sect, who was connected to the Hyuk family, the sky standing above their heads, was.

“Many women have married into the Hyuk family over the years. Each time, we didn’t care whether that woman was strong or weak, simply because she was a person of the Demon Cult.”

An old man with white hair even on his eyebrows slowly looked into the distance. He turned to his young granddaughter standing next to him and said:

“But if it’s the daughter of the Righteous Sect, the story is different. Will the Righteous Sect, who deserves to be beaten to death, now stand above our heads? Haha!”

His brows wriggled.

“It’s something to see after living a long life. Isn’t that so, Dana?”

The woman with hair slightly covering her back smiled faintly. She poured water from the table next to her, handed it to the old man, and quietly spoke.

“Don’t worry too much. Your health is important, grandfather.”

“Tsk, tsk. It’s not just my health, but I’m worried about our cult. Where has the law of power that has been upheld all this time gone, and the filthy Righteous Sect is stepping on this noble land. I don’t know what will happen to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

The old man clicked his tongue, and the woman named Dana, who smiled at him, glanced to the side and stepped back. The old man’s eyes slowly rolled to the side.

“What brings you here? Baek Geon.”

Baek Geon, the owner of the Holy Stream League, an old man with long white hair tied naturally flowing down, politely greeted the old man.

Nevertheless, the old man seemed to dislike Baek Geon, clicking his tongue lowly and frowning.

“For Elder Beon Yuk to take such heavy steps. It’s been a long time.”

“What elder? There’s no point in calling an old man who’s about to die an elder and treating him like that.”

“But shouldn’t we show respect to the one who led the Demon Cult before us?”

“Hmph.”

The old man snorted and sneered at him. How many people would come out with a lofty attitude even when the owner of the world-famous Holy Stream League bowed his head politely?

The old man stared intently at Baek Geon and bluntly said:

“I heard you guys connected the marriage between the Righteous Sect and the Young Cult Leader. What were you thinking?”

“As you know, whenever the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult shouted for the unification of the Central Plains and extended its power outside, it repeatedly failed not because of a lack of power but due to insufficient supply, rest stops, and bases for a prolonged war. This time, to solve that, we first made a contract with a prestigious family in the Central Plains to make it a little easier…”

“Gah!!”

The old man, who had been looking at him with dissatisfied eyes as he rambled on, shouted with his eyes wide open. Despite his age, his still heavy cultivation and the deepening demonic energy weren’t to be taken lightly.

“Are you mocking me now? Do you think I asked just to hear such things?”

He firmly planted the cane he was holding on the ground and opened his mouth.

“It’s been eighty years since I joined our cult and even served as the Vice Cult Leader. Do you think I’ve been able to keep my head attached and live just because I’m lucky during those years?”

“…I misspoke.”

Baek Geon quietly answered, swallowing a sigh inside at the old man’s words scolding him.

The old man looked down at the martial arts arena with a dissatisfied face.

Before long, the first match was ready. Two women of the Demon Cult were facing each other, greeting and waiting for the start signal. The old man’s eyes narrowed.

“Do you still harbor futile thoughts? Do you think covering the sky with your palm and standing on top of your palm is the way to truly become the sky?”

“…”

“Foolish bastard. When I taught you, I told you that vain ambition would eventually become poison, but how can you be so dull?”

“Elder Beon Yuk. The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult has lost its power after the six external expansions ended in failure. The imperial court has become even more solidified, and even that imperial court has ties with the Murim Alliance, enjoying enormous power in the Central Plains. No matter how strong we become, it’s no longer as easy as before. But look.”

Baek Geon quickly continued his words with a frown.

“The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which followed absolute power, has lost that power due to the long reign of the Hyuk family. Even the attitude of giving up the unification of the Central Plains, which started from the previous Cult Leader, has made us lose the will to dominate the demonic realm. I can never tolerate such an appearance.”

“So you’re saying you’ll split the sky and become the Jade Emperor yourself?”

“I will do whatever it takes if I can.”

At Baek Geon’s resolute answer, Beon Yuk clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“You’ve caught yourself in the net you cast and can’t distinguish greed… You’re blinded, blinded.”

“Bringing in the Righteous Sect was a mistake. The Young Cult Leader tried to distance himself from the daughter of the Righteous Sect and take care of her when the opportunity arose, but I never thought the Young Cult Leader would take an interest in that daughter.”

“Thanks to your foolishness, you’ve only raised the momentum of the Murim Alliance.”

“That will end today.”

“End?”

Beon Yuk turned to look at Baek Geon, who was making a meaningful remark. He nodded his head, his eyes shining.

“It’s the seed I’ve sown. Now it’s time to retrieve that seed. I have no intention of touching the Young Cult Leader now, but if we let him grow further, we won’t be able to create the sky we want in the end. So, we must catch him now.”

“…Do you think the Young Cult Leader, who inherited the blood of the Hyuk family, will move as you think?”

“He will move.”

A deep murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

“He will definitely become an excellent sky that will obey my words.”

* * *

I had my eyes closed. I repeated countless thoughts. The sparring and training I had done. And the images of myself drawn in my mind and the vast knowledge Moyong Do had taught me.

I rose from the painful past years and gained time to overcome the winter, though unstable.

And I found a place to live and a person who made me feel alive. They embraced me, and now it was time for me to move forward on my own.

In a place where enemies were all around, I couldn’t survive just by relying on Hyuk Dojin.

The time he was away was never safe. In other words, for me to live, I had to become strong and know how to protect myself.

“Miss.”

At Yoo Doha’s voice, I opened my eyes. He opened the door wide as if it was time. I took a deep breath while sitting in my seat, then stepped out the door. As I went outside, Hyuk Dojin approached as if he had been waiting.

“Are you nervous?”

“A little.”

“Good. Nervousness creates good results.”

He handed me a sword made of Celestial Steel that he had never used before. It was a gift I received before our wedding as a symbol that he would always be by my side.

It was heavier than a regular training sword, but not to the point where I couldn’t handle it. No, rather, that weight made me feel stable.

“You mustn’t get excited. The first real sword match will make your blood boil. The moment you feel the pain of your flesh being cut and torn, you will have two choices. Murderous intent towards the opponent or fear. You must shake off both of these. Only then will you see the path your sword should take.”

“Young Cult Leader. That’s too difficult a concept. Even I haven’t grasped the meaning of the unity of the divine and the sword…”

At Yoo Doha’s words, Hyuk Dojin chuckled and nodded his head. He firmly grasped my shoulders with both hands and his eyes shone.

“As I always say, my wife is strong. So show them.”

Hyuk Dojin stepped aside. And there, the path I would now walk was shining.

“That you are not weak.”

I walked slowly into the light, passing Hyuk Dojin. With each step I took, the sound of people grew louder.

It felt like my heart was boiling. The painful past years. The powerless and agonizing days of the past became black fragments and were imprinted on my footsteps.

It wasn’t the end of everything. There were still ninety thousand li to go, it was just the beginning. Perhaps, I had always been longing for it.

The children playing beyond the window. Them practicing martial arts. Sparring. Engaging in martial arts competitions.

I admired the way the children lived, not just struggling to survive. And now I was standing above that.

At the end of the final light, I took a deep breath, tightly tied my hair ribbon, and moved my legs out again.

The light cleared and my vision came in. There, thousands of people were waiting for me.

“When I heard the rumors, I thought it was ridiculous, but now I see it’s real. She’s a snow woman, a snow woman!”

“Is she human? Look at that white skin! She looks just like a corpse!”

“The dirty blood of the Righteous Sect will taint the noble Crimson Lotus Festival arena. Tsk tsk.”

“No matter how strong the weak Righteous Sect bastards are, how strong can they be? It’ll be fortunate if she doesn’t get knocked out in one blow.”

The murmuring sounds entered my ears. In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to hear those voices, but my brightened senses faintly picked up the surrounding noise.

‘A villain.’

A righteous person among the demonic crowd. The strangest of the strange.

Following the referee’s guidance, I stepped onto the martial arts arena. It was twice as wide as the training ground I had used so far. I looked around, then looked at the woman right in front of me.

“Nam Sojeong, the eldest daughter of the Ink Stained Nam clan.”

She calmly clasped her hands and bowed her head. It wasn’t bad that the eldest daughter of the Ink Stained Nam clan, who was favorable to the Young Cult Leader, was my first opponent.

“It is an honor to have the opportunity to cross swords with the Young Madam.”

I also gave a small greeting, then looked at the referee. At my gaze on him, he made a puzzled expression.

I jerked my chin back, then looked around again. Only then did he make an expression as if he realized what he had missed. And following that, his face crumpled.

But he couldn’t stop what I was doing. The referee called someone else and gave a brief instruction, then opened his palm to calm the crowd. As the noise died down, the referee pulled his open palm from bottom to top.

“Everyone, stand up!”

At his words, a slight murmur surged out. Everyone had the thought of ‘No way?’ but no one directly stood up. When the referee shouted again to stand up, a voice came out from the opposite side.

“What are you doing now! Start the martial arts match right away!”

At the words shouted by the elder of the Holy Stream League, the referee flinched and glanced at me. But he couldn’t back down.

-This is the place where the new sky of the Demon Cult appears. Regardless of whether that person is weak or strong, it is a place to welcome the Hyuk family. Receive greetings from everyone.

Recalling Man Do’s words, I slowly shook my head, and the referee sighed and shouted once more.

But still, people remained unmoved. Among the frozen people, a sneer flowed.

“Start the martial arts match right now…!”

At the moment that sneer was about to be followed by a shout to start the martial arts match, that voice was cut off.

The elder checked the direction the person interrupting him was pointing, and at that moment, he jumped up from his seat. In the direction he was looking, Beon Yuk and Man Do, who had taken their seats, were already standing up and preparing.

As the elders stood up, the women of the Demon Cult rose from their seats. The referee quickly scanned the surroundings, then approached me, first knelt down and prostrated, and shouted.

“Greetings to the Young Madam of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult!”

And following that, the combined voices of thousands of people resounded.

“Greetings to the Young Madam!”

I smiled, receiving the earth-shaking greetings. The heart beating at their voices awakens me to the fact that I am alive.