Possessing Nothing

Editors: LaidBackGuy, Morin

Crazy Heavenly Demon opened his eyes and said nothing for a moment. He looked up at the sky, realizing that he had lost his mind and entered another fit of madness. He did not know how much time had passed since then. It was not until he met Lee Sungmin’s eyes that Crazy Heavenly Demon fully came to his senses.

“Heoah!”

Crazy Heavenly Demon made a frightening sound and stood up. He staggered as he retreated, and looked at Lee Sungmin with a vigilant attitude. The memory just before he had lost his mind was clear. He remembered, of course. Even though he had lost it for a moment, it wasn’t for long. Crazy Heavenly Demon remembered Lee Sungmin, who had crushed his Blood Gale Nova with one gesture, and the glint in his eyes as he strangled him.

“… No, it’s different… ”

Lee Sungmin at that time, and Lee Sungmin now were not the same. Crazy Heavenly Demon noticed it as he looked at Lee Sungmin’s pupils and flowing aura. However, that did not make him lower his guard. There was no knowing when that unknown monster with such fearful energy would overtake him again.

“You… What the hell are you? Just what kind of being… ”

Crazy Heavenly Demon asked while stammering. Lee Sungmin turned away without answering. He picked up the spear that Heoju put down and walked up to Crazy Heavenly Demon.

“Have you calmed down?”

“Uhm… ”

Crazy Heavenly Demon was confused, but he did not attack Lee Sungmin like before. It was a strange feeling. He did not want to be hostile to Lee Sungmin from deep inside. It was an unconscious impulse, but it certainly affected him.

[He has my powers in his Dantian. That bastard is under my influence. So he won’t be able to attack you since you are directly connected to me.]

“… What have you done to me?”

Crazy Heavenly Demon asked just as Heoju said that. Lee Sungmin briefly pondered over how to respond to it.

[Is there a need to explain? Threaten him till he answers whatever you ask. He will probably listen. If he doesn’t listen, you can beat him up a little.]

‘First of all, I need to have the ability to beat him up.’

[You don’t understand. In simple terms, the relationship between that rascal and you is similar to that of a blood bridge. Just like how the one at the bottom of the clan can’t go against their mother, the lord, he also can’t go against you. That doesn’t mean this is a one-sided relationship’s obedience that comes with that sort of vertical relationship. But… he won’t kill you just because you beat him up. If he tries to do that, then the powers in his dantian will go crazy.]

‘Is it really that easy?’

Lee Sungmin asked Heoju in his mind and then looked into the eyes of Crazy Heavenly Demon as he said.

“It doesn’t matter what I did to you.”

“It doesn’t matter, you say.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon murmured.

“So… Crazy Heavenly Demon elder. There are a few things I want to ask. Can you answer me?”

“… Yes… ”

Normally he wouldn’t have bothered to listen, but Crazy Heavenly Demon tilted his head with a yawn. Unknown emotions continued to urge him. Eventually, he sat down and nodded.

“What are you curious about?”

“I heard that there is an essence of a power in your dantian. Do you know what it is?”

“… Is there something in my Dantian?”

Crazy Heavenly Demon’s forehead crinkled as he frowned. He sat cross-legged and looked into his inner sense. Although Lee Sungmin was right in front of him, there was no hesitation in Crazy Heavenly Demon’s actions. Crazy Heavenly Demon, who had his eyes closed for a while, opened his eyes again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There is only inner force in my Dantian.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon answered in a steady voice.

[How interesting.]

Heoju snickered and muttered, hearing Crazy Heavenly Demon’s reply.

[The rascal doesn’t know that he has my powers in his own dantian, or that he is using those powers. Yet he remains a human being. It’s my first time seeing such a thing… Hmm.]

‘What is it?’

[There is something to point out.]

Having said that, Heoju remained silent for a while. He seemed to be organizing his thoughts. While Lee Sungmin was silent, Crazy Heavenly Demon continued to stare at him. However, Crazy Heavenly Demon himself did not understand why he was looking at Lee Sungmin.

‘Why do I keep looking at a child like that?’

Crazy Heavenly Demon was a man of unmatched madness. It was rarely the case after he got the nickname Crazy Heavenly Demon, but before that, he had never come across anyone stronger. In the days when Crazy Heavenly Demon was weak, there were times when he encountered a person stronger than himself. Yet he had never lowered his gaze and noticed them.

But not now. Strangely, he continued to notice him. It did not even feel unpleasant. Crazy Heavenly Demon couldn’t understand this complicated situation, and Heoju, who was silent, suddenly opened his mouth.

[Ask him about the South.]

‘What?’

[Ask him if he has ever been to the South. And whether anything happened there.]

Lee Sungmin passed over those words to Crazy Heavenly Demon. Crazy Heavenly Demon was surprised and nodded his head with wide eyes.

“South… It was an impressive place.”

“What have you experienced in the South?”

“… Euhm.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon made a sound of unwillingness. He honestly didn’t want to answer, but he strongly felt like he should answer. Eventually, he opened his mouth hesitantly.

It was 10 years ago. He had encountered a huge wall while practicing martial arts. There were many times when he had encountered a wall while practicing martial arts, and Crazy Heavenly Demon had always broken through it with his own efforts. But in this case, it didn’t work out. After repeated training and frustration, he set out on a journey to regain his focus.

“As I wandered aimlessly, I reached the southern land. Hot sun, dense jungle, desert… I saw a lot of things. In the meantime, I got acquainted with a certain tribe in the jungle. They were strange. None of the tribal warriors seemed easy. The conservative factions’ proud disciples could not hold a candle to their young warriors, and the older ones were comparable to the conservative factions’ most renowned elders.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon frowned as he said so.

“I became interested in their tribe because their fighters, despite their great skills, had not mastered the right martial arts. It was such a waste that I ended up teaching some of my martial arts to those tribal warriors. And in return, they gave me the spirit of the tribe and a breathing technique.”

[That’s it!]

Heoju roared.

[The south is where my name was most revered. Some of the tribes in the south used to worship this elder, so they must have had a way to handle my powers.]

Heoju’s voice was full of excitement.

“What was that breathing technique?”

“At first, I thought it was a kind of introspective method, but it wasn’t. I couldn’t build my inner force. But it helped me to make my mind comfortable, so I found it very helpful. Through the breathing technique, I absorbed the elixir of their tribe and made great progress in my martial arts. And I succeeded in breaking through that wall.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon said with a long sigh.

“I thought that if I crossed the wall, I would be able to reach transcendence… Transcendence was much farther than I thought. Even though I was close, I hadn’t reached the Transcendence yet. As I drifted away from the south, I continued to perform martial arts… Too much ambition got me into such a situation.”

[Stupid bastard.]

Heoju cursed as he listened to Crazy Heavenly Demon.

[Breathing Technique or not, a Yokai’s powers are not something that humans can easily control. The qi deviation he suffered is the result of him using powers that he should not be able to use normally. It’s amazing that he is only suffering from madness. Normally, they would explode or turn into a complete Yokai.]

Heoju muttered to Lee Sungmin.

[Learn that breathing technique. If you master it, you can use my powers while maintaining your humanity.]

‘… Is that really necessary?’

[It was you who wished to get stronger. The choice is always yours. But let me tell you one thing. With your current body, it will take you decades or even hundreds of years to be able to reach that Minor Heavenly Demon’s level that you want.]

‘I am progressing.’

He could say that for sure. In the fight against Crazy Heavenly Demon, Lee Sungmin did not use magic. Haste and strength might have made the fight against Crazy Heavenly Demon easier, but Lee Sungmin did not use both buffs intentionally. The purpose was to force himself to reach enlightenment through the life and death situation. In fact, what Lee Sungmin gained from the fight was not just enlightenment, but rather a boost on his body that allowed it to catch up with his mind that was leading, but it was true somehow the situation became what Lee Sungmin wanted.

[It’s too dangerous. There is no guarantee that you will get enlightenment by repeatedly forcing yourself into life and death situations.]

‘Your powers are also equally dangerous.’

[You fucking bastard. You’re refusing to eat even when I’m handing you something delicious. Oi, you bastard. Why don’t you understand that this elder is saying it for your own good?]

Heoju cursed at him in frustration. Lee Sungmin was lost in thought as he received Heoju’s curses. It was true that he was greedy for more powers. Heoju’s destructive power would make Lee Sungmin’s body much stronger, and if it does, he would be able to reach his physical state from his subconscious realm faster.

‘It was shallow this time too.’

Just before the blood ring blast unfolded. Lee Sungmin’s spear went in shallower than he thought it would. If he had added Strength and Haste at that moment, he could have penetrated through Crazy Heavenly Demon’s body before he could execute the blood ring explosion. But even that judgment came late, and Lee Sungmin didn’t like it.

It was frustrating. It was frustrating that his body could not do what he had done before and was expected to do now. The reality was that there is no guarantee that he would be able to master the martial arts of his subconscious realm just by stepping forward bit by bit. It took 2100 years back then, and there was no guarantee that he would be able to reach the same level just because he had the experience.

“… The breathing technique. Can you let me know?”

“That’s impossible.”

Crazy Heavenly Demon replied as he frowned.

“When I received the breathing technique and the elixir from the tribe. It was an elixir, so I’ve already taken it. That’s something I can’t help. As for the breathing technique, I vowed to never teach it to others. I can’t break it since it was not just a verbal promise, but a binding promise.”

[What a hassle.]

Heoju grumbled.

“What is that?”

“It’s one of the shamanic rituals used by Southern Shamans. It is impossible to break it as long as you’ve given your word. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t break it since I’m already bound to the words.”

[It is similar to the mana oath used by mages. If you make a promise using your heart with the help of a shaman, your heart will burst when you break that promise.]

“Where is that Southern tribe?”

“No matter how good I am, I can’t remember the location of a tribe I had run into while wandering through the jungle.”

It was a disappointing answer. He wanted to try his best and use his skills, but it was natural to be disappointed since he couldn’t learn the technique from Crazy Heavenly Demon.

[Let’s go South.]

But Heoju was rather excited as he said so.

[Didn’t I promise you in the first place? If you take this elder out of the forest, I will give you the treasures that I have collected. The place where it is located is also South, so it worked out well.]

‘But I don’t know where it is?’

[You are a fool. Why don’t we just take that rascal as our guide?]

‘What?’

[Tell him that you’ll teach him how to cure his madness.]

Heoju snickered.

[His madness is a side effect of using my powers, and the reason he has come this far was by following this elder. When this elder was sealed in the sleeping forest, he must have had fits of insanity very frequently, but once I left the forest with you and came North, his madness must have lessened.]

It was true. Originally, Crazy Heavenly Demon would slaughter and destroy everything around him in fits of madness, but that violent insanity disappeared since Heoju left the sleeping forest. Instead, Heoju’s powers, which were lying deep in Crazy Heavenly Demon’s dantian, moved from his body in search of its owner, Heoju. The reason Crazy Heavenly Demon came to the North after losing his mind for several months was that Heoju and Lee Sungmin stopped at the dungeon and moved north.

“Come to the South with me, and I will tell you how to cure your madness.”

“What?”

Hearing Lee Sungmin’s words, Crazy Heavenly Demon’s eyes widened. He would tell him how to cure the madness he had been dealing with for so many years! In fact, aside from that, Crazy Heavenly Demon did not want to disobey Lee Sungmin.

“How do you intend to cure my madness?”

“Well… ”

Lee Sungmin had no words to answer, so he dragged out his voice. Heoju answered in his mind.

[Make something up. There will be no madness anyway as long as he is with this elder.]

“… first of all… You must recite the spell of ‘Domaksaramura’ a hundred times everyday… then you must get slapped on the cheek for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

He gave away such orders roughly. The reason for attaching the condition of slapping himself was because he wanted to get back at Crazy Heavenly Demon for fighting him all of a sudden for no reason

“Domaksaramura. I don’t know what it is, but it has a very magical sounding ring to it… But what do you mean slap? Why should I be slapped?”

“If you don’t believe it, don’t do it.”

“Eum!”

Crazy Heavenly Demon groaned at Lee Sungmin’s words. It was a completely unbelievable condition, so why? Why did Crazy Heavenly Demon believe Lee Sungmin’s words with his whole heart?

“Okay.”

“Then, let’s try out the first shot.”

As soon as Crazy Heavenly Demon replied, Lee Sungmin struck his cheeks. Crazy Heavenly Demon’s head flung away with a loud slapping sound.

“Euk!”

Even if Crazy Heavenly Demon was a great master, it was enough to completely surprise him.

“Please recite the mantra.”

Before Crazy Heavenly Demon could refute, Lee Sungmin ordered quickly. Crazy Heavenly Demon grabbed the cheeks with open hands and began to chant the mantra as he rubbed his cheeks.

“Domaksaramura… Domaksaramura… ”

Lee Sungmin swallowed down his laughter as he listened to Crazy Heavenly Demon chant the mantra so earnestly.