In the depths of the valley, energy carried within the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline rose and wrapped around the body of a young woman. Fragments of energy stretched around, drawn to the Dark Flower Red Heart, which shone through the gloomy atmosphere, in hopes of awakening the senses of the body one by one. The muscles were refreshed and the blood in the body boiled with vigor. 

That was the qi from the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon flowing through Chun A-young. 

The world of martial arts is so vast…

So cultivation is like planting and growing a tree on such a vast world. A great tree, one that can cover a vast plain. 

That is the path I must take.

I still have a long way to go.

The pressure of cultivating in the Valley of Thousand Spirits had enlightened her, allowing her to tap into the true power of the Dark Flower Red Heart. 

Evidence of A-young’s improvement flickered in the form of a flame nestled in her hands. 

Burning hot and bright, this was the purest demonic flame. 

This force was the sprout of the Divine Shaped Flame, a manifestation of the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon! All members of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon were to kneel before it. 

A-young still couldn’t fully bring it out yet, but there was no doubt what the energy in her palms was. Knowing that, she smiled happily. How many buckets of sweat and tears had it taken for her to cultivate this mysterious force? Only she herself knew.

She continued to meditate for several days, maintaining her energy to fight back against the chaotic spirits of the Valley. It was not just meditation, but also continuous physical training. 

Some of the crew members were tired and had rested, but she had not stopped once. 

Her satisfaction was earned through effort.

With this, I won’t lose to Number 900…No, I won’t lose to Hyuk Woon-seong.

Chun A-young tightly clenched her fists and stood up, walking out. 

The valley had numerous caves built into the sides, as numerous as the graves that littered the bottom. Looking down from her own cave, she could see several other caves where the other members of the unit were living.

It was then she heard a strange sound.

Kachi-kachi-kachi-

It was the sound of something scratching against the sides of the valley. 

Since there were no dummies to practice with, all the members had gotten used to the sound of something hitting the wall through strength practice. 

But there seemed to be a slight difference… 

Is that sound coming from above?

It was indeed coming from above. The members of the 2nd Latent Demon Squad all looked up, as if they could not believe their ears. 

Even then, the sound came once again.

Kachi-kachi-kachi—

Nope, that was definitely the sound of something repeatedly hitting the wall.

As A-young looked up, she could see the blue sky that peaked out between the cliff walls. 

There was something that was falling.

“Is that a bird?”

A-young wasn’t sure what it was. The Valley of Thousand Spirits was filled with different creatures, but most of all, dangerous spirits. Most animals instinctively gave it a wide berth. A flying beast would also turn away or fly higher to avoid passing through. 

If it was a bird, it sure was a weird one to seek its own death. 

While she was thinking, the thing fell at an ever-increasing rate. She could hear the sounds from the wall, like the suicidal bird had stretched its wings to slow down its descent.

As the thing got closer, the appearance was clearer and clearer, enough to be recognized by the members, including A-young. 

No, it wasn’t a suicidal bird. It was a man with a spear in his hand!

As the man fell, he would use the spear to slow down his fall, causing it to bend and draw along the cliff wall. That was how they had heard those scratching sounds.

Boom!

As the spear bounced off the wall, the man went up a little bit, forcefully decreasing his speed significantly. 

“Oh my god!”

Some of the members were impressed.

That was the Art of Lightness, an art that controlled the weight of the user’s body. This man was using his spear in accordance with the elasticity so that his speed would decrease.

Who could this be?

Based on the sound of the spear against the wall, the person was preparing to land. With one final scritch, the man fell towards the floor. 

Boom! Kuung-!

Did only one person fall? The amount of dust and the shaking of the floor made it seem like two or three people had simultaneously landed. 

Sand and dust billowed into the air. 

Chun A-young did not take her eyes off the swirl of sand. The person had fallen too fast for her to identify. The rest of the team also showed their vigilance, grabbing their weapons. 

Whoo-hoo!

In the meantime, a spear rose out of the cloud and cleared the air. 

And finally, a person slowly walked out. 

“Looks I got down okay.”

It was dangerous, but the owner of the voice made it sound like falling off of the cliff was an unimpressive feat. 

Chun A-young, without even seeing the owner of the voice, muttered, “Number 900?”

Of course, it was Hyuk Woon-seong. He slowly walked forward, towards her. 

“It’s been a while.”

What a relaxed greeting. 

Chun A-young bit her lip. A-young had thought their skill gap had been narrowed after her breakthrough with the Dark Flower Red Heart.

He’s become more of a monster again.

The Woon-seong that had just fallen into the Valley of Thousand Spirits was truly astonishing. 

Besides, she’d noticed that he still had all his bracers on. If someone asked her to do the same…

Chun A-young berated herself for even thinking about it. Anyone else would have smashed themselves to smithereens.

Meanwhile, some of the 2nd Latent Demon Squad members were shouting at Woon-seong.

“What are you doing here?”

“Are you here because you were punished, too? Serves you right!”

“You’re just a mere Number 900!”

“Well don’t you look healthy, Number 900?!”

“We’re stuck here because of you!”

Many of them had always disliked Woon-seong, especially now that they wished to blame others for their suffering. There always had to be a scapegoat — Woon-seong was the obvious choice. It wasn’t because their squad had failed their mission, but because the others had accomplished their mission too well.

Of course, it was a bad idea. 

A-young naturally did not agree with the people who had spoken out. 

What a terrible mindset to have. To lay blame on others, even if it was obvious that you were in the wrong? 

Some people had become poisoned by the energy of the vicious spirits in the Valley, adding to their existing complaints

Unfortunately, they were the most vocal now. 

“Stop-!”

A-young tried to stop them. However, a cool voice interrupted her. 

“Believe whatever you want.”

Some eyebrows twitched when they realized they could be mistaken. Woon-seong stared at them with soulless eyes, looking at them like they were dead men walking. 

“I didn’t come here to be punished, I came here on my own.”

“The fuck?”

“This crazy bastard, coming down to this dreary place—”

The man couldn’t finish his thoughts, as Woon-seong had grabbed him by the collar. 

“Huff!”

With his hands around the man’s throat, Woon-seong lifted the man straight off the ground. Tendons flexed on Woon-seong’s forearms as the man’s feet dangled helplessly. Truly tremendous power!

“Don’t think of me like any of  you,” Woon-seong snarled ferociously, pulling his face close to the other. He continued in a commanding tone, “I am a well-qualified Great Demon. This is no place for you idiotic Demonic Captains to open your mouths.”

The shoulders of the man trembled. He felt like a mouse standing in front of a viper. Fear from the overwhelming difference in power shook him.

Woon-seong dropped the man unceremoniously — the man crumpled to the floor, coughing and hacking — before glaring at the others. “If you have nothing else to say, move aside.”

Some of the unit members shook their heads, but no one said anything. 

The people hastily parted for him, giving him a clear path to Chun A-young. He walked uncaringly and passed by her. 

It was A-young’s voice that could be heard next. “Did you really come here for training?”

He stopped walking. Without even looking back he asked, “Do you think I came in because I was punished?”

Although he couldn’t see, A-young shook her head. If he had been punished, the whole Charred Dragon Unit would have entered. But here Woon-seong was, alone. That meant he really had volunteered, unless there was a deeper reason. 

“It couldn’t have been an easy decision…”

Woon-seong laughed. For the first time, his gaze was on her face. Of course, he still looked quite emotionless.

“You know how meaningless it is to look for the easy way, don’t you?”

‘Look for the easy way out and you might just find the easy road to death’. That was common sense for any martial artist who lived with a weapon in their hand. 

“That’s somehow more convincing coming from a person who started from the bottom and ended at the top…”

“There’s no such thing as easy training.”

That was all Woon-seong had to say to her. When he finished, he turned around and walked ahead. 

Where he was headed was the most dangerous part of the valley, the deepest place. 

Woon-seong eventually stopped walking, feeling the sinister energy rising around his feet. 

Here we are.

The energy here was more toxic than any other place. If an ordinary person were here, they would have gone insane within record time. 

Woon-seong only smiled.

It’s a good place to train.

There was no easy training. 

Moreover, the path he walked was one of bloodshed, a path of revenge. 

Woon-seong couldn’t go easy on himself. What he had told A-young was like a commitment to his own beliefs.

Focus on where to go, what to train, and what to do.

Woon-seong reached out to feel the walls, checking what there was around him. 

The walls were damp and soaked with evil energy. Moss grew on the walls, which he could eat. 

They have a toxin that causes abdominal pain, but they can be consumed as long as you have the strength.

Woon-seong had heard this somewhere, before he had entered. Moss inside the Valley of Thousand Spirits could be eaten as a food substitute while inside the valley, as long as you picked it from somewhere you could endure. 

Around him, enough moss grew to feed a hundred people. 

So he had everything he needed. He sat down.

Time to start.

And then three months passed.