“Hahahahaha!”

My father’s laughter echoed loudly in the great hall.

“Is this really a moment for laughter when you speak of killing someone?”

With his laughter abruptly cut off, my father spoke in a tone of finality.

“You may kill the Demon Lord, but Blood Heaven Butcher is beyond your reach.”

A message that I still could not kill him.

“Then why did you make me clash with Blood Heaven Butcher? Take responsibility for this!”

“Alright, I’ll take responsibility.”

As refreshing as his answer was, his responsibility was just as straightforward.

“I’ll assign you to the Yellow Spring Division.”

I was stunned. I never expected that I would be appointed as the leader of the Yellow Spring Division, not in a million years.

“Is this even possible?”

Of course, there’s nothing impossible under the will of the Heavenly Demon.

“Is it possible for a mere investigator to kill the Demon Lord?”

As things progressed, it crossed my mind that maybe my father had planned from the beginning to make me the leader of the Yellow Spring Division.

“Don’t you want to take proper control?”

That’s how I interpreted his words.

He’ll hand me the sword, and I can run wild {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} with it.

To put it more bluntly, he wants me to be the shield and take the hits.

There would be too many complications for my father to get directly involved. But what about his reckless youngest son, the Heavenly Demon’s heir?

“Is he using me to handle the tasks he’s been putting off? Whether I live or die doesn’t matter to him.”

Was it an emotionless fatherly detachment, or was this decision an extension of his desire to make me his successor? I couldn’t tell. But this wasn’t something to take emotionally.

What my father said before was true.

—The heart of a person is something you’ll never know.

Don’t try to read someone’s mind; judge by what you see and hear. It’s not about understanding someone’s heart but rather interpreting the situation that unfolds.

My father had always been like this. He would leave inscriptions on the wall for his children, yet he would throw them into dangerous situations if he saw potential use in them.

It was easier because of this father. If I did what he wanted, I’d get what I needed in return.

“If you want to send me to kill a cow, at least give me a sword.”

“Is there something you want?”

The name of a place I had to visit after the regression slipped from my lips.

“Please allow me entry into the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion.”

The Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion housed all the rare martial arts manuals, and only a select few, including the Heavenly Demon himself, were allowed entry.

“Why do you want to enter the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion?”

A hint of confusion appeared on my father’s face.

“If you think you can learn a supreme martial technique there, you’re gravely mistaken. You’ll only skim through the titles.”

There were simply too many techniques. Even if I were lucky enough to find the best martial arts manual, it would only be at a level similar to my Radiant Sword Art.

The look in my father’s eyes was filled with skepticism and reproach, as if to say, You couldn’t possibly be unaware of this.

“I want to test my luck.”

My father was probably curious. What was I up to?

After briefly observing me, my father made his decision.

“I don’t know what devious intentions you have.”

After this unnecessary remark, he finally gave his consent.

“I’ll allow you to enter the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion for seven days.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Seven days was a significant amount of time for me, not yet a successor. It was a groundbreaking amount of time, indicating how important entrusting me with the leadership of the Yellow Spring Division was.

“Tell the head of the division to wait exactly seven days!”

Ian was absolutely thrilled when she heard I was granted access to the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion.

“Master, when you enter the pavilion, you must focus on mastering one martial art. If you try to learn too many things, you’ll end up with nothing. Also, make sure you eat properly. If you skip meals thinking you’re saving time, your memory will deteriorate, and you’ll lose out. Oh, and the place is so vast that you might get lost…”

Listening to Ian’s incessant chatter, I couldn’t help but reflect.

The Ian in my memories was a quiet person.

And yet here she was, so talkative.

It seemed that at the time, I had been so consumed by my desire to become the successor that I had only looked at the Heavenly Demon’s temple, while the people who would help me achieve my dream were standing right in front of me.

And so, Ian had become quiet. It was I who had made this lively and cheerful woman silent.

“Did you hear me?”

“I heard. Focus on one thing, and eat properly.”

“Get a good night’s sleep. I hope for great results. Don’t forget, being allowed entry into the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion when you’re not the successor is a divine opportunity.”

“Ugh, I think I’m starting to bleed from my ears. Maybe it’s already happening.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll speak less from now on.”

“No, a depressed silent signal is even worse.”

“Then remember my advice. And when you’re looking for a martial art manual…”

“Please!”

In fact, Ian didn’t have much to worry about.

I knew exactly where to go in that vast pavilion.

The reason I wanted to enter the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion was simple. I needed to return to the place where I could obtain the final material for the Grand Regression Art, the Bimaheon.

I had gone back to the Heavenly Demon Sect after the Sealed Gate incident to get it.

I had scarred my face to the point where it was unrecognizable. I was already presumed dead, and no one recognized me after so many years away from the sect. The fact that my face was disfigured only helped to ensure no one knew who I was.

I rose to a position where I could meet the new sect leader, all through my own efforts. It took a long time.

During the final year when I was searching for the Bimaheon, I heard a story about a martial technique.

The Wind God Four Steps.

The person who acquired the Wind God Four Steps was the sect leader of the Sealed Gate sect at the time, Jo Baekdo. Over the decades since the Sealed Gate incident, the sect had changed leaders six times, which gives you an idea of how chaotic the sect had been.

I vividly remembered what he had told me during a drinking session.

“…I rose to the position of sect leader by finding the practical version of the Wind God Four Steps.”

Wind God Four Steps.

A truly supreme footwork technique composed of just four steps.

It was said to have once assisted the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts, but somewhere along the line, it was no longer passed down. However, Jo Baekdo had obtained it.

“…When the previous sect leader and his bloodline were suddenly killed, the Heavenly Demon’s secret martial art, the Ghost Fire Demon Technique, was finally used. Luckily, only the Heavenly Demon Temple was damaged, so the sect’s power was preserved during the Sealed Gate incident. After that, the sect was in constant turmoil over the leadership position. If I hadn’t obtained the Wind God Four Steps, the sect would have collapsed under internal chaos.”

He rose to sect leader just by adding the footwork technique to his martial arts, proving how incredible the Wind God Four Steps was.

“Where did you obtain the Wind God Four Steps?”

“At the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion. I was in charge of managing the pavilion at the time.”

“If there were martial arts manuals in the pavilion, why did it get lost?”

“It wasn’t on the bookshelf.”

“…!”

If I hadn’t drunk with him that day, if he hadn’t been in a bad mood, if he hadn’t gotten drunk and started boasting about his martial arts tales, I wouldn’t have known where the Wind God Four Steps was hidden.

The Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion was the largest library I had ever seen.

Ninety-nine massive bookshelves filled the library, each containing martial arts manuals. There were treasures that could make anyone’s heart race, collected by the sect over the years.

I slowly walked between the shelves, savoring the scent of old books. Endless bookshelves, filled to the brim with martial arts manuals—just reading the titles felt like it would take a lifetime.

Of course, I didn’t need to search like finding a needle in a haystack.

“This is it.”

I stopped in front of the nineteenth bookshelf.

This shelf contained manuals on sound techniques. Of course, I wasn’t planning to spend my new life with music.

Instead of looking at the manuals on the shelf, I looked underneath. To balance the weight of the shelf, one book had been placed underneath.

I gently lifted the shelf with my energy and retrieved the book that had been propping it up.

The old manual had four characters written on its cover.

“It really was here!”

I jumped with joy.

I recalled my conversation with Jo Baekdo from the past.

“The Wind God Four Steps wasn’t on the bookshelf.”

“Where was it then?”

“It was used as the support for the nineteenth bookshelf.”

He had found it due to his obsessive-compulsive tendencies. He had to place everything perfectly, and if something was out of place, he couldn’t focus. When he saw the book supporting the shelf, he couldn’t resist fixing it, which led to the discovery of the manual.

Why this precious manual had been used as a shelf support, I didn’t know. Even Jo Baekdo didn’t know.

There must have been a hidden story behind it.

Something must have happened in the past that required the best footwork technique to be hidden. Perhaps it was during a succession struggle, or as a result of the Heavenly Demon’s misguided love, or maybe due to someone’s misplaced ambition.

In any case, I was now bound to the Wind God Four Steps.

I cautiously opened the first page of the manual.

Before the real practice began, a line written grandly filled my chest with excitement.

—Four steps are enough to walk the world.

Yes, this was it! A martial art fighting for supremacy in the world must have this level of grandeur.

The Wind God Four Steps consisted of four major steps.

Shadow Step
Blinking Step
Demon King Step
Swift Step

The first step, Shadow Step, was used to sneak in somewhere.

At first, it helped to avoid the sight of one person, but as the level increased, the number of people you could avoid grew. Once you mastered the technique, you could disappear in the blink of an eye, even under the gaze of dozens of people.

The second step, Blinking Step, was a defensive step that allowed you to evade inevitable attacks and find a way to survive.

The third step, Demon King Step, was an offensive step that could nullify any defense or evasion.

It felt as if the Demon King Step was saying:

“I will open the path to hell; you follow me.”

Thus, Demon King Step and Blinking Step were contradictory. One was defensive, the other offensive. If they collided, the martial artist’s quality would determine whether the spear breaks or the shield pierces.

The final step, Swift Step, was a technique that showed the ultimate in speed. As your mastery grew, the world would shrink. A perfected Swift Step would take you beyond human limits.

In the end, the Wind God Four Steps was saying this:

Sneak, evade, attack, run.

Isn’t this enough to deal with any opponent?

I sat quietly in a corner of the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion, chanting the secret technique.

I followed Ian’s advice. I made sure to eat the dried meat I brought and got plenty of sleep. Instead of wasting time, I focused all my energy on mastering the Wind God Four Steps.

The depth of the technique was as vast as the ocean, and its meaning as vast as the sky.

It was designed to be adapted into different forms based on a single fundamental step, making it far more difficult to understand than a martial art with dozens of techniques. Without my previous life’s experience, I never could have grasped such depth.

Maybe that’s why? Each time I read it, it felt different. The first time, the second time, the tenth time—it was always different.

I lost track of time as I immersed myself in the practice.

Seven days after entering the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion, I had perfectly memorized the Wind God Four Steps and was able to perform it. Of course, I was only at the first stage, and further training would be needed to reach higher levels.

I tore out the most important part of the manual and swallowed it. I left the rest propping up the bookshelf. The Wind God Four Steps had gone from a top-tier martial technique to a bookend.

I didn’t want someone else to come along and learn it. I was being honest with my own desires.

With that, I took my first step out of the Heavenly Demon Scripture Pavilion.