Absolute Regression

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis
Murim Term Consultant: Kopke
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< Chapter 181: Not a Climbable Cliff >

The Fist Demon King was at the grand training grounds.

Dozens of Iron Fists were practicing martial arts, and the Fist Demon King stood in front of them with his arms crossed.

Unbeatable Fist Demon King, Dan Woo-gang.

The supreme master of martial arts, known to have never lost a single battle.

He was a head taller than me and had a muscular build. His bronze skin looked as solid as steel, as if no blade could pierce it. His fists were particularly large—without exaggeration, each was the size of a woman’s head.

If there was anyone whose entire body could be called a weapon, it would be the Unbeatable Fist Demon King.

But there was something even more striking about him. The Fist Demon King had an incredibly fearsome appearance. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that the images and statues of demons in the cult were modeled after his face. He had the kind of face that made you think he would always be the vanguard in any major demonic battle. In the martial world, how many could truly meet this gaze head-on?

The Fist Demon King slowly turned his head to look at me.

I didn’t care what he was feeling right now. His appearance was already so intimidating that, at the very least, he always seemed ready to fight me.

Of course, I harbored no prejudice based on looks. How many times in my life had I seen that appearance and character didn’t align? How many times had I seen those who looked perfectly normal kill people with a smile?

I bowed my head respectfully in greeting.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Fist Demon King.”

However, Dan Woo-gang did not return my greeting and returned to look at the Iron Fists. He was blatantly ignoring me, but I didn’t mind.

In the past, I might have taken offense at this behavior, seeing meaning in every little action. But not now. Don’t get angry. Please, don’t get angry. Once it’s over, it’s nothing at all.

If he greeted me like this on my first visit, there must be a reason.

I stood to the side, watching the Iron Fists as they practiced martial arts.

Under the scorching sun, the Iron Fists stood still in one position, like statues. It was as if the world would end if they moved, and no one dared to shift even an inch. Well, with that terrifying Fist Demon King watching, no one would dare to say they were tired and move.

A suffocating tension filled the air, but fortunately, no one made a mistake noticeable enough to catch the Fist Demon King’s attention.

How much time had passed?

At the command of the warrior at the forefront, the Iron Fists transitioned to their next stance. One of the two extended fists was drawn to the waist as they twisted their bodies to the side.

Again, they took another stance, becoming statues that might never move. Each movement was performed with utmost dedication.

I thought it was a proper training session. Of course, whether any of them would truly understand the deeper meaning of this training and make it their own was another matter entirely.

The training that lasted for one full half day finally ended.

The Iron Fists dispersed, and the Fist Demon King also walked off to his quarters. He continued to thoroughly ignore me until the very end.

Considering all the recent rumors and news about me, this complete disregard could be seen as a form of communication in itself.

I imagined that frightening face smiling brightly at me. I pictured us exchanging jokes.

Fist Demon King, if you treat me like this, I’m the type of person who would have such thoughts.

The next day, I went to see the Fist Demon King again.

But today was just like the first day. He glanced at me once, then silently watched the Iron Fists train in martial arts.

I was ignored just as I had been yesterday, but no one laughed at me for it. Whether it was because of the authority instilled by the fear of the Fist Demon King, I felt that the Iron Fists had the most discipline among the subordinates of any Demon Supreme I had encountered so far.

When the martial arts training finally ended, the Fist Demon King spoke to me.

“Second Young Master.”

His voice was surprisingly gentle, contrasting with his terrifying appearance. I had expected it to be heavy and cold, but it was softer than I had anticipated. It felt as though someone else was voicing his words from behind him while his lips merely moved.

“Why do you think I acted that way yesterday?”

“Was it perhaps because I visited during your martial arts training time?”

At that, the Fist Demon King turned away without responding, striding off as if my answer was wrong. Not going to make this easy, are you? I watched his back and smiled faintly. 1

I visited Dan Woo-gang again the following day.

Although I was the one making these visits, it was the Fist Demon King who was provoking my repeated attempts.

Today, I went at a different time—before the martial arts training began. I perched on the railing in front of the building where his office was, watching as Iron Fists passing by glanced at me.

While the Fist Demon King continued to ignore me, none of the Iron Fists showed me the same dismissive look. On the contrary, there was a subtle sense of goodwill and respect in their gazes. It could be said that the Second Young Master of the past, right after returning, was a completely different person from the Second Young Master now.

It was then that Dan Woo-gang emerged from the building.

“Did you sleep well?”

He glanced at me briefly before moving on without a word. I followed him as he headed toward the grand training grounds.

“I thought about it carefully yesterday. Is it because I didn’t visit you first among the Demon Supremes?”

I had met and established connections with all the other Demon Supremes, except for the Poison King. He was the seventh one.

The Fist Demon King stopped in his tracks and looked at me with his intimidating face before asking, “Do I seem like someone who’s that petty?”

“Then I must be the petty one. If it were me, I’d be quite upset.”

Dan Woo-gang didn’t say anything more and just walked away. As he distanced himself, I called out, “I’ll see you again tomorrow!”

But the next day, I couldn’t find him.

Only the Iron Fists were training at the practice grounds. I watched them until their training was over and then returned.

For three consecutive days, I came up empty. I couldn’t tell if he was deliberately avoiding me or if he was simply busy with other matters.

‘So, this is how you want to play it?’

These Demon Supremes were all so prickly and difficult to deal with. Not a single one of them was easy.

Let’s see who comes out on top, I thought as I turned to leave. Then, one of the Iron Fists passing by subtly spoke to me.

“The Demon Supreme is currently at the Small Training Grounds.”

I looked at him with a questioning expression, wondering why he would tell me this. He spoke in a low voice.

“Our family recently received great help from the Underworld Pavilion.”

After saying that, he bowed slightly and walked away. Telling me this must have been burdensome, but it seemed he was genuinely grateful for what the Underworld Pavilion had done.

—Thank you.

I conveyed my gratitude through a sound transmission to him as he walked into the distance.

I made my way to the Small Training Grounds.

The Fist Demon King was sitting there alone, lost in thought. One wouldn’t think that such contemplation would suit someone as large and rugged as him, but surprisingly, the sight of him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed fit quite well.

I spoke softly from behind him, skipping over the fact that I had come up empty-handed for three days or how I had found this place, addressing him as if we had just seen each other yesterday.

“Are you avoiding me because of my brother? Is it because you’ve already decided to support him and don’t want to compromise that belief?”

After a brief pause, Dan Woo-gang opened his eyes and spoke.

“What kind of grand belief would cause me to shun someone for that reason? It’s those with misguided beliefs who ruin the world.”

This was unexpected. Just by looking at him, you’d think he was the type to uphold his decisions until death.

“So, you could support me instead of my brother, then?”

The Fist Demon King closed his eyes again, as if to signal that he wouldn’t continue the conversation.

I bowed my head politely.

“I’ll come back tomorrow with an answer.”

I knew it. He was testing me in some way. Otherwise, he would have outright told me not to come back. Regardless, this wasn’t a bad situation. If we kept seeing each other, I could find the answer to our relationship.

After leaving the Eastern Fist Faction, I headed to the Southern Heavens Blade Family to meet the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.

Strangely enough, he too was sitting in the yard, lost in thought.

“Is today the Demon Supremes’ day for contemplation? In that case, I might as well do some contemplation myself.”

I sat down beside him.

With his eyes still closed, Gu Cheonpa spoke softly.

“You’ve been swinging your sword so much that now you don’t know how to deal with fists, huh?”

Old man Blade knew exactly what situation I was in.

“How did you know?”

“How do you think? The rumor that you’ve been frequenting the Eastern Fist Faction is all over the place.”

“The speed at which rumors spread… Like blabbering demons with loose lips!”

“If you’re not careful, you’ll lose all the fish you’ve caught.”

“It’s fine. I’ll just catch them again. There are only seven of them, so it’s at least fun to catch them over and over.”

“Why seven?”

I quietly stared at Gu Cheonpa.

“Did you already catch and eat one?”

I laughed loudly at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s remark. He too chuckled, amused by his own words.

“Actually, that’s why I came to see you. What kind of person is the Fist Demon King?”

“Most fist fighters are usually ignorant, but Dan Woo-gang is smart. Very smart.”

A smart Fist Demon King. It made sense why the Drunken Demon said you’d need considerable determination to beat him, and why my father said that even though they had fought many times, they were evenly matched.

“A smart person’s fists hurt more.”

“Do you regret it? Thinking you should have caught him before you caught this old man?”

“Let me say this first. I may not know what kind of person Dan Woo-gang is, but one thing is certain: having caught the Blade Demon first, I’m not envious of ten Fist Demon Kings!”

Flattering Gu Cheonpa never feels like a waste. Usually, when you flatter someone enough, you eventually have a moment where you wonder what you’re doing, but with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, that’s not the case.

Old man Blade wasn’t worried. It’s not because he thinks of himself as a fish I caught, but because I genuinely like him. When I asked him to be my left wing, it was only because I needed a Demon Supreme at the time.

But now, it doesn’t matter if he’s not a Demon Supreme, or if he’s just the stableman of the cult. It doesn’t matter if he’s someone who has no impact on my becoming the successor. I like the person that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon is. As long as this feeling doesn’t change, I won’t have to worry about our relationship.

“Do you know why the Cult Leader likes the Fist Demon King?”

“My father likes Dan Woo-gang?”

“He doesn’t say it outright, but I’d bet he likes him the most among all the Demon Supremes.”

“Why does he like him?”

“The Fist Demon King is a maniac for martial arts.”

Well, that says it all. It meets my father’s top condition for liking someone.

“He’s not just a maniac, he’s purely obsessed.”

“And yet he’s smart, right? That’s impressive.”

“Impressive? He just met the right match.”

“It’s all good as long as you’re here, Elder. If you weren’t, who would I get such advice from, and how would I even live?”

“You’d manage just fine. Drinking with the Drunken Demon, hanging out with the Evil Smiling Demon.”

As expected, Gu Cheonpa was jealous of the other Demon Supremes, yet he was still freely sharing information about the Fist Demon King.

“Can’t exactly deny that, can I?”

“If I need to contemplate more, I’ll visit you again. Next time, I’ll bring the Fist Demon King along.”

“Not a chance!”

With that, I left the Blade Demon’s quarters.

* * *

The next day, I went to see the Unbeatable Fist Demon King again.

He wasn’t at the grand training grounds, nor was he at the small training grounds. After searching here and there, I finally found him standing in front of a cliff within the Eastern Fist Faction. I knew the cult grounds were vast, with a lake and all sorts of things, but I didn’t know there was even a cliff like this.

“Did you sleep well?”

Once again, he didn’t acknowledge my greeting. But that was fine. Just the fact that he allowed me to roam freely around the Eastern Fist Faction meant that my visits weren’t entirely unwelcome.

I stood beside him, looking up at the cliff.

“I think I’ve finally found the answer. But I’d like you to make me a promise first. That you won’t get angry when you hear my answer. Or rather, you can get angry, but you won’t hit me with those fists of yours.”

Dan Woo-gangslowly looked at me. He didn’t say he would promise in words, but just his gaze was enough.

“You wanted to show your subordinates something. Not that ‘I can easily dismiss the Second Young Master,’ nor ‘I support the Eldest Young Master, so you all should too,’ but rather the message you really wanted to convey was, ‘I have no interest in your successor fight,’ isn’t that right?”

Was it the right answer? Instead of driving me away as he usually did, his gaze returned to the cliff.

I, too, stopped worrying about whether my answer was correct and looked up at the cliff with him.

“I didn’t know there was a cliff like this on the cult grounds. If you climb to the top, you’d be able to see the entire cult, wouldn’t you?”

“The purpose of this cliff isn’t for climbing.”

“Then what is it for?”

His answer was astonishing.

“This cliff is meant to be destroyed by these fists. In a single blow!” 2

I was startled because I could tell he was serious.

“You think it’s an impossible goal, don’t you?”

Even for the Fist Demon King, bringing down this cliff in one strike seemed impossible. Even my father couldn’t do that.

“No, I was just thinking about why I’ve never had such a specific goal.”

I had never set a specific goal in martial arts. Of course, it was probably because Hwa Moogi always occupied that place in my mind.

It had been a long time since I’d heard a martial artist speak of such a concrete goal. It stirred something inside me.

“May I join in on this goal?”

“Are you saying you want to cut this cliff down with a single sword strike?”

“No. I want to try bringing it down with my fists as well.”

This time, Dan Woo-gang was genuinely surprised. He probably never imagined that I would respond that way.

But I was serious. If I could bring down this cliff with my fists, I felt that I could even defeat Hwa Moogi. No, putting Hwa Moogi aside, I just wanted to take on this challenge as a martial artist. I then told the Fist Demon King, who was staring at me with his terrifying, demon-like face, something even more surprising.

“Teach me your martial arts.”

1 : He already hooked the fish, but it is shallow. If he tries to pull now, the hook will fall and the fish will escape. What he need to do now, he wait for the fish to forget the hook, patiently dig it deeper, and then pull jerkily, little by little.
2 : Disciple of One Punch Man.