Absolute Regression-Chapter 322 : You Did Not Fail

Translator: FenrirTL

Editor/Quality Checker: Saphartlantis

Murim Term Consultant: Kopke

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Chapter 322: You Did Not Fail

A fierce aura erupted from So Baekta's body.

The words ‘Our Cult does not permit your war’ didn’t enrage him. He had expected them. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

But ‘Go wash your face first’—those words brought an indescribable sense of humiliation. It struck directly at his pride.

“You really think you’re that strong?”

A ghostly wail echoed in all directions, pressing down on me with demonic energy.

It wasn't a fully mastered martial art yet, but it was Heaven-Shattering Demon Aura.

Heavenly Demon Body Protection Technique activated, shielding my body. Seeing me stand calmly, So Baekta drew out even more inner force.

“I asked if you’re really that strong!” 1

He really was strong. Far from being overwhelmed by the ghostly energy, I actually began walking toward So Baekta with bold strides.

“What exactly do you have that justifies all this chaos? This isn’t some back-alley turf war among punks. What is it that you possess to speak of unifying the Wilderness and dreaming of dominating the entire martial world?”

I walked right up to So Baekta.

“I don’t see how the deranged patterns on your face will lead you to victory in war.”

The moment a flicker of resolution crossed So Baekta’s eyes, another one of his hidden cards flipped over.

A crimson energy began to pour from both his eyes, merging with the ghostly aura he had already unleashed.

In that instant, I knew.

‘That energy... it’s not Heaven-Shattering Demon Aura!’

The next moment, a blood-red wave engulfed me, and the surroundings changed.

I was no longer in the Cult Leader’s Hall.

The walls and floor around me squirmed as if alive. It felt like being inside the entrails of a beast. I’d been here before.

Yes, it was the space created by Hwan Yeo, the woman of the Flower Garden!

But this one was different. The colors were different, the shapes were different. I could feel both the Heaven-Shattering Demon Aura of the Heavenly Wind Cult Leader, and the aura of Hwan Yeo I’d sensed back then.

‘Those two martial arts have been fused!’ 2

The merged aura was far stronger. And the one who had enabled this fusion was probably Hwan Wang.

The reason So Baekta seemed changed wasn’t because he had fallen victim to the Soul Reaping Art. The merging of two powerful martial arts had affected his very personality. On top of that, there had surely been Hwan Wang’s persuasion and brainwashing. 3

He gave him his own martial art to make him stronger?

As if admitting it now that the end had come, So Baekta nodded.

“He’s the one who taught me how to draw the facial patterns.”

Finally, the hiding place of Hwan Wang had been revealed.

“He taught me how I should live… and just how amazing I truly was.”

The blood had risen now to their chins.

‘So this is where it ends…?’

So Baekta suddenly locked eyes with Geom Mugeuk. In Geom Mugeuk’s clear and deep gaze, there was a strange joy glimmering.

“What the hell are you smiling about? What’s so great that you have to act smug even now, at the end?”

“If it were me on any other day, I’d probably have bragged a lot. But today, I’ve held back a lot.”

Then came the most baffling words of all.

“Your attempts to dispel the space… didn’t fail. I just succeeded.” 11

“…What?”

“Come to think of it, in this space, I’ve basically become your junior disciple.”

“What nonsense is that?”

“He passed it down to me alone—of course you wouldn’t know.”

The blood had risen to their faces. They had to stand on their tiptoes just to keep talking.

“Every time your master opened and closed this space, he always made a certain gesture.”

Geom Mugeuk raised his hand above the blood’s surface.

So Baekta felt an instinctive sense of something going very wrong. But that thought lasted only a moment—because the blood had risen past their faces.

Just then, Geom Mugeuk’s hand, held above the surface, snapped his fingers with a crisp snap.

1 : Well, yeah. You might be strong, but you’re far from being as deviously evil as some of Mugeuk opponents, those he already killed.

2 : “My Fucking Legs Gricko !!!” *Once Upon a Witchlight - Legends of Avantris flashback*

3 : Yeah, some martial arts, especially those from the demonic side, tend to have a negative impact on the user's personality, slowly influencing them to become more violent, and thus use said martial arts more often. Very rarely, it can go so far as to entirely reshape the user consciousness, and I saw at least one occurrence where someone deliberately created and spread a vicious martial art solely designed to implant the creator consciousness in an attempt for him to live forever through new bodies/vessels.

4 : That’s why you don’t accept strange martial arts from suspicious strangers. Unless you REALLY don’t have a choice and you have plenty of countermeasures in place. If not, F to you.

5 : Again ? It’s the idea of the week apparently.

6 : THe Nine Calamities Demon Art didn’t stagnate. In fact a legacy of a millennia is worthy of respect.

7 : Either that or Mugeuk used his own Temporal and Spatial Transference Technique to mess with you.

8 : A bit naïve.

9 : There you go, finally. Been ages.

10 : The darkest spot is ALWAYS under the lamp.

11 : Knew it.