Chapter 503: Side Story 23 Baek Sang-ah’s Melancholy
A child, huh.
I had often thought about what name I would give one if I ever had one. But in truth, I had never seriously considered the very existence of a child itself.
However—
“Is it still not over?”
“M-Demon Doctor said no one must be allowed inside until the Demon Doctor comes out.”
I asked the maids of the Lesser Demon Hall once more as they fidgeted nervously, cold sweat running down their faces.
“It’s been over four sijin since the Demon Doctor went in. And yet there’s still no word.”
The maids of the Lesser Demon Hall only lowered their heads repeatedly in response to my words.
Normally, with my senses, I’d know immediately what was happening inside.
But just in case—however slim the chance—I had forcibly sealed off all my senses and qi.
Once one reached the Extreme Demon Realm, even the slightest emotional stir could cause the surrounding air and objects to react, so such precautions were necessary during childbirth involving high-ranking members of the Divine Cult, including the Six Great Demonic Clans.
“Calm yourself.”
“……”
“If the Supreme Seat looks this anxious, it’ll only make the subordinates more nervous.”
I turned to look at the towering elderly man who radiated an imposing presence simply by existing.
It was Jin Gun-ak, now fully retired and withdrawn from all duties.
“…Father.”
“A descendant of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan doesn’t get shaken up over something like this.”
Yet considering the way he stood with arms crossed, eyes fixed on the closed door, his words didn’t exactly ooze credibility.
“I didn’t even come to see you when you were born. That day, I was calmly handling official matters in the Patriarch’s Hall when I received the report that you had been born.”
“I heard you rushed straight to Mother the moment you got that report…”
According to the informant, Jin Gun-ak had moved like a bolt of lightning that day.
Flinch!
A twitch ran harshly through the corner of Jin Gun-ak’s eye.
“Which bastard spouted that nonsense…?”
“Commander Byeok said it.”
“……”
Jin Gun-ak fell silent.
He, too, had refrained from releasing any qi, given that the mother was right in front of us, but—
“Heh heh heh… Seems he’s desperate to retire soon.”
Hearing Jin Gun-ak mutter under his breath, ‘I’ll dislocate his spine when I get back,’ I clicked my tongue softly.
“Well, he does need to find a successor.”
Unlike the retired Jin Gun-ak, Commander Byeok was still active, assisting his younger brother Jin Yeowoon.
Originally, Gu Chil would’ve been the natural successor as the next Commander of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, but as we all knew, Gu Chil had entered the Guardian Hall instead. Thus, Commander Byeok needed to seek out a new heir.
Well, whether it’s Commander Byeok or Gu Chil, in the end—
That brief banter with Jin Gun-ak eased my tension slightly.
‘A child, huh…’
Still, the restlessness wouldn’t go away.
‘Strange how I never imagined myself building a family like this.’
In my two previous lives, although the level of difficulty was drastically different, I had never lived a life connected to family in any way.
Even in this life, where I had only run forward with Cheon Yura in my sights, now that a child carrying my blood was about to be born, I couldn’t help but feel a tangle of emotions.
How much time passed after that?
“Huu…”
The door opened, and the Demon Doctor stepped out with his disciples, his face weary.
The moment I saw him, a chill ran down my spine.
‘The baby… isn’t crying.’
There should’ve been a loud, healthy cry echoing through the room—but there wasn’t a single sound.
“Yura…!”
“Congratulations, Supreme Seat. The future of the Divine Cult has safely entered this world.”
The Demon Doctor and the physicians of the Medical Hall all bowed in congratulation.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The babies are all healthy. And… the former Cult Leader is also safe.”
“That’s a relief.”
“…However.”
At his sudden addition, both mine and Jin Gun-ak’s faces hardened.
“However? What is it?”
“There’s nothing wrong with the babies’ health. No, in fact, they’re healthier than any newborns I’ve ever seen. However… aside from their health, it’s something the Supreme Seat ought to see for yourself.”
“What’s the issue?”
“Though the lower dantian hasn’t fully formed, there is an immense amount of qi gathered near the upper dantian.”
“……!”
“Don’t tell me the upper dantian is open already?!”
Jin Gun-ak shouted in shock.
I couldn’t hide my own seriousness either.
If the upper dantian was already open, it meant the child had gone through a process very similar to qi deviation.
In exchange for overwhelming talent, they would live a life that traded away their lifespan.
However—
“Hmm, it’s not quite that…”
“Then what is it?!”
Jin Gun-ak shouted, half in relief and half in anger at the Demon Doctor’s denial.
If it wasn’t a lifespan issue, what had him this concerned?
“I believe… it would be best for you to see for yourself.”
Then.
“……!”
They resonated.
At the faint Qi leaking from my fingertips, the energies dormant within the two children’s bodies began to resonate all at once!
“Heavenly Demon Divine Art… no, the Divine Demon Constitution?”
The physique that can learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—more precisely, the one that has transformed after successfully mastering the art—is called the Divine Demon Constitution.
In Yura’s case, she was born with it due to external experimentation, but in this case….
‘Moreover, it’s not just the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
I understood why Demon Doctor had trailed off at the end of his sentence.
The True Qi flowing inside the children was not just one type.
Even the powers of Heaven's Evil and Jiseong, which Yura and I had wielded, were faintly flowing through them.
‘This is serious.’
As Demon Doctor said, these children were incredibly healthy right now.
Their newborn size was nearly comparable to that of the successors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which said enough.
‘It’s possible to remove it. I could eliminate all the inner arts within them and fill them solely with the pure Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
The problem was, doing so would make it impossible to predict how the butterfly effect might unfold in the future.
What should I do?
Whether I removed the power or not, the outcome was entirely uncertain.
‘The powers of Heaven's Evil and Jiseong are divine powers. If properly guided and mastered, they’re not inherently harmful.’
If I considered their safety in the future, then perhaps… it was better to remove it no matter what.
But just then.
“Jin Yomyung.”
“You’re awake?”
Yura, who had silently opened her eyes at some point, was looking at me.
“I would prefer… if you just left it alone.”
Yura immediately saw through my dilemma.
“…Really?”
“I doubt the things you’re worried about will come to pass. It’s merely a hunch, but….”
Yura’s intuition rarely missed.
Especially if it was her maternal instinct—it would be even more reliable.
I chuckled softly and clasped her hand.
“If that’s your choice, I’ll gladly follow it.”
So that those children’s lives wouldn't go astray, we would do our best as their parents to support and help them.
“You really… worked hard.”
Yura smiled faintly and slightly raised her chin.
“Then make sure you do a good job.”
Clang! Clang!
Metal clashed against metal with a clear, ringing sound.
There were no flashy storms of Qi or flurries of powerful aura—only a pure contest of sword strikes against sword strikes.
But the higher one's realm, the more clearly they would be able to perceive the essence of this duel.
“Hmm….”
“Hrmm…!”
The current and former Clan Heads of the Six Families, gathered here, all let out low, complex murmurs.
The two had momentarily ceased their fierce exchange and widened the distance between them.
Cheon Yura and Ma Seonghwan were facing each other with their swords drawn, gauging something.
‘It’s tight.’
Yura and the Sword Demon were currently extending their willpower to clash over each other’s combat paths in a strategic contest.
The higher their level, the more they could grasp how their techniques intertwined.
‘They’ve laid out their paths very intricately.’
Of all the spectators present, I was probably the only one who could fully grasp the situation.
At best, Jin Gunak and the Murder Demon might be able to follow it somewhat, while the younger Clan Heads, whose skills hadn’t fully matured yet, were frowning deeply, trying hard to understand the nature of the duel.
“Damn, I still have a long way to go.”
The new Sword Demon, Ma Cheolsu, clicked his tongue under his breath.
Thanks to the power of Heavenly Killing Star, he led the younger Six Families' Clan Heads in terms of overall martial prowess, but in terms of pure depth of martial arts, he lagged behind Pae Yeongyeong, the new Clan Head of the Pae Clan.
“Seven steps?”
“I can read up to nine steps, but beyond that, it’s just… no use.”
Still, even Pae Yeongyeong seemed to be struggling, as he didn’t mock Ma Cheolsu as he usually would.
‘Ma Seonghwan and Yura laid out a total of forty-two steps.’
Within those forty-two steps, their superiority was revealed.
‘As expected, in terms of pure mastery, the Sword Demon is slightly superior.’
Of course, with Yura’s current ability, she could completely overwhelm the Sword Demon.
But then the duel would lose its meaning, so they were suppressing their Qi and dueling purely with willpower alone.
And then.
“Ppappa!”
“Mapappa!!”
Suddenly, Sunyu and Sunha, who were in my arms, began waving their hands toward the two combatants.
Though only three months old, these two were already crawling around restlessly and had been disturbing the attendants' sleep with all their might.
“Kids, it’s nice to cheer for your mother, but be a little quieter… hmm?”
Their egos weren’t fully developed yet, so it was difficult to read their emotions clearly, but I could still grasp the intent behind their actions.
Right now, the two children were reaching out toward a specific point in the combat paths laid out by the two through their willpower.
And that combat path, from what I could see….
“……!”
“……!!”
In an instant.
Ma Seonghwan and Yura’s expressions completely changed, and simultaneously, as if it were pre-arranged, they began swinging their swords at each other.
Clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
Ma Seonghwan’s Blood Dragon Sword and Yura’s Heavenly Killing Demon Sword exchanged twenty forms in a short span.
Then, at the twenty-eighth step, where Sunyu and Sunha had reached out—
The originally intended movement of the Heavenly Killing Demon Sword shifted.
“Hm!”
The previously composed Ma Seonghwan's expression twisted slightly.
And not long after—
Clang-clang-clang!
What should have resulted in Yura being pushed back, flipped—and instead, Ma Seonghwan was driven back!
‘No way… they could see the combat path of willpower?’
I was shocked once I realized what the kids had done.
Right now, Sunyu and Sunha had precisely pierced through the combat paths laid out by willpower—a feat only achievable at the entry stage of the Wall of the Transcendent Demon Realm!
And they had even pinpointed the very moment where Yura would be disadvantaged!
The Sword Demon clicked his tongue slightly and sheathed his sword.
“…This should be enough.”
“Is that so?”
“There won’t be anyone in Our Cult who doubts your ability any longer.”
In truth, hardly anyone doubted her from the start.
Especially after the past Heavenly Clan incident.
“Your swordsmanship is far more refined than during your time as Cult Leader. And your overall capability—needless to say.”
“So? Does it seem within reach?”
At that, Ma Seonghwan’s gaze shifted briefly in my direction.
And then he said this.
“There is a chance of victory.”
“Good. That’s more than enough.”
What they were referring to now was none other than the possibility of defeating me.
In truth, no one would have objected if she simply resumed the role of Cult Leader as she was.
But Yura seemed to believe that she had to reach a level where she could touch me through pure martial arts, without relying on the power of Heaven’s Evil, to be qualified to return to that seat.
“Draw your sword, Jin Yeomyung.”
Yura grinned as she redirected the sword that had been pointed at the Sword Demon toward me.
“It’s been a while since we had a marital quarrel.”