CHAPTER 287: MARTIAL ARTIST ARE MISERABLES!?

Chun Ma was swiftly guided by the Heavenly Demon, quietly and without a word.

While the Demonic Cult’s people watched in silence, the Heavenly Demon knew that they would never again hold the same awe and respect for him as they once did.

Sure, they would still cower before his might but not out of that subconscious reverence.

It is very hard for one to build an image, yet it takes only a slight push for the entire thing to collapse, like a line of dominoes.

Regardless, Chun Ma quietly followed the Heavenly Demon. He didn’t care, even if this man intended to take over his body; with Zarek’s help, that was literally impossible.

So he was confident in that department. In fact, if the Heavenly Demon really tried, Chun Ma would show this bastard hell. There was no losing situation for him, so why wouldn’t he first try to obtain the entire Heavenly Cultivation Technique and see if he could benefit from it if there was no harm to him?

Wouldn’t that be the best path for him?

"We have arrived," the Heavenly Demon said calmly. In front of them stood the grand residence where he resided.

’Sigh.’ Chun Ma looked at the residence, a faint pity lingering in his mind. The first time he had seen this place, he had felt a mounting pressure, as if an entire mountain were trying to crush him.

But now, he didn’t feel any pressure in this place, the Heavenly Demon was already miserable, and there was no need for him to even take action.

Chun Ma could only imagine the defeated Heavenly Demon’s mental state after being defeated by his own subordinate, no less.

Previously, Chun Ma was weak, but now he was a first-stage Martial Artist, and he had the help of Zarek and Eryke if anything went wrong, so there was no reason for him to be scared.

"What are you doing? Follow me." The Heavenly Demon turned towards Chun Ma and frowned when he saw the unmoving figure of Chun Ma.

"Okay," Chun Ma replied quietly and followed the Heavenly Demon into his residence.

The moment he entered, he was met with the sight of countless guards standing motionlessly.

They both quietly walked, and Chun Ma came to the familiar garden he had once seen.

The Heavenly Demon extended his hand, and a mace floated into his grasp.

Chun Ma looked at this with a stunned expression, his heart palpitating.

There was only one question in his mind: How?

Before he could respond, however, the Heavenly Demon went directly to the chessboard, sat down, and spoke softly.

"Seat."

"... Okay." Chun Ma slowly walked up to the chessboard and sat opposite him.

There was a teapot in place, and the Heavenly Demon brewed the tea himself, slowly sipping as steam curled into the air like snakes. Then he spoke:

"Do you want to listen to the story of how it all happened?"

"..." Chun Ma remained silent, his pupils fixed on the Heavenly Demon.

"Even if you aren’t interested, I will still tell you," the Heavenly Demon said with a chuckle. His tone sounded very defeated. "My master was regarded as the strongest person of the entire era. It was even said he had almost stepped into the mystical Heavenly Realm. However, he unfortunately died."

"... How?" Chun Ma asked curiously.

"He died because of old age," the Heavenly Demon chuckled. "You might be surprised that such an expert met such a disappointing end, but that is the feeble worth of mortality and of us mortals, who have a limited lifespan."

"Even if you endure and become a genius throughout the ages, defeating all your external enemies, in the end you cannot escape your true enemy: death."

"..." Chun Ma listened with an intrigued expression. This martial world was truly focused on finding a way to escape mortality. After all, the Martial Realms did not increase the lifespan of a martial artist.

Even if they were a first-stage Martial Artist, they could barely live to the age of 100 years, and he doubted the progress of the Martial Realm allowed one to even increase their lifespan by a little bit.

That meant they lived the same lifetime as an ordinary person, and Martial Arts was extraordinarily difficult to practise, not to mention the fact that you encounter numerous enemies in your lifetime.

With almost every battle being life and death and experiencing it numerous times, a martial artist rarely gets the peace of life.

This would make them very unsatisfied; even if they reached the First-stage Martial Realm or even the Transcendent Realm, they would already be old by then, leaving lingering regrets.

If you looked at it from that perspective, then a Martial Artist was truly pitiful.

"Are you listening to me?" The Heavenly Demon’s voice rang in his ears. Chun Ma looked at him wordlessly, then the Heavenly Demon slammed a book onto the table, causing a thudding sound.

"What is this?" Chun Ma spoke, his lips feeling a little dry.

"This is all the remaining three steps of the Heavenly Cultivation Technique," he said.

Silence.

Chun Ma’s gaze lingered on the book for a while, then he looked up at the Heavenly Demon again. "What do you want?"

"My disciple, you are being disrespectful to your master right now," the Heavenly Demon said, raising his brows.

"Yeah, I am being disrespectful, so what?" Chun Ma spoke again with a sneer.

"I see, you have already considered that I am no longer the man you feared," the Heavenly Demon said after some time. A suffocating pressure immediately pressed on everyone.

Chun Ma, who was very close to the Heavenly Demon, immediately felt it. His arms trembled, his legs shook, a frown marred his face. "Are you showing your true nature to me?"

"Yes," he replied. "Do you know what I want?"

"You want my body because you are dying, but can you even do it?" Chun Ma replied calmly.

"Oh? Smart, smart." The Heavenly Demon raised an eyebrow. "When did you figure it out?"

"When you sent assassins after me." Chun Ma couldn’t have connected the dots without Gang Reyong’s help, but he wouldn’t admit that. Even if he told the truth, he doubted the Heavenly Demon would believe him anyway.

For a moment, the Heavenly Demon paused, eyes widening, then he started to laugh. "As expected of the chosen one to lead our cult. To deduce correctly with so little information, you truly are a clever one."

For the first time, he relaxed his shoulders and leaned lazily back in his chair, eyes on the chessboard. "Have you played this before, my disciple?"

"Yes..." Chun Ma replied. It was said that people grew senile in old age, and Chun Ma was witnessing a live example right before his eyes.

It seemed as if the Heavenly Demon knew his end was near, for he had become unusually chatty. When Chun Ma had first met him, he had been completely silent, every word deep and carrying absolute authority. Now, even his voice sounded like that of a senile old man.

While Chun Ma was lost in thought, the Heavenly Demon moved his pawn to e4.

"Your move, disciple."

Chun Ma raised his black pawn and moved it to e5. The numbers weren’t exact, but for convenience, he had named them that way.

"Excellent move. I see you know a thing or two." He nodded appreciatively. "You know, when I first saw you, I was ready to hand over the entire cult to you, the destined one. However, I realized something."

"What?" Chun Ma asked instinctively.

"I realized my own greed. The greed for life. If I die, everything ends, every effort I made to reach my position would vanish in an instant. How could I allow that to happen? Greed overtook my mind, and I gave you faulty steps of the Heavenly Cultivation Technique." The Heavenly Demon casually explained, sipping his tea again.

"And yet, I am still greedy." Saying this, the Heavenly Demon moved his knight to Nf3.

"Why don’t you try then?" Chun Ma moved his knight to Nf6.

"No." He shook his head.

"I realize that you are different from all the others. You progress too quickly, have already mastered every martial art in the library, and at your age have reached the First-stage Martial Artist. That is simply impossible, even if you had once been a First-stage Martial Artist. It left me with only one conclusion."

"You have a secret I don’t know. You are something far more terrifying."

Chun Ma glanced at the book beside the Heavenly Demon and remained silent.

But even with that disrespect, the Heavenly Demon continued:

"Do you know how I can extend my lifespan? If you possess it, then I will allow you to gain it."

This was the Heavenly Demon’s true goal. After seeing Chun Ma, he knew something was definitely amiss. If he fought him directly, his own end would be miserable. So why not turn an enemy into an ally? Wouldn’t that be the optimal choice?

Of course, that is if Chun Ma had a way...