‘...What?!’
Choi Yeonseung was more stunned than anyone else when the power of the domain was activated. Although the name Domain of the Past was self-explanatory, he hadn’t expected to actually be sent into the past.
But after thinking about it, it was only natural. After all, hadn’t his daughter come back from the future? She wouldn’t have been able to do that without this power.
His vision blurred and started to change rapidly. Time in the Abyss, which was completely different from Earth, was pulled back and everything changed.
The past…
Into the past…
Further into the past!
Once he came to his senses, he noticed a familiar landscape. It was the barren, desolate wilderness of the Abyss.
“...I never expected to see this again.”
He was in one of the most remote parts of the Abyss.The prosperous kingdoms were more in the heart of the Abyss. The farther one ventured toward the outskirts, the fewer beings they would encounter. Beyond a certain point, only desolate wilderness awaited.
Despite having wandered around the outskirts of the Abyss and devoting himself to training to become a constellation, Choi Yeonseung hadn’t often come across such scenery. Few parts of the Abyss were as empty as this place.
Choi Yeonseung stepped forward. He wasn’t sure what he had to do, but since he had been thrust back in time, there had to be some kind of task at hand.
‘The question is what...’
Choi Yeonseung walked for quite some time before stumbling across a small tribe of orcs. The skinny orc warriors gnawed on the bare bones of monsters to satisfy their hunter.
“Chwik. After regaining strength, go hunt the monster again! No matter how strong he is, don’t be afraid!”
“Chwik. Chief, but he killed twenty-three of our tribe’s warriors. Can we win?”
“Chwiik! Fear makes you weak! Without bravery, no skill will help you!”
Choi Yeonseung was happy to see the orcs.
It seemed that it was because of their weakness that they had been pushed all the way to this remote area of the Abyss and were starving.
Since he had an orc tribe under his command, Choi Yeonseung decided to do a good deed.
“It’s good for you.”
“???”
“?????”
The orc warriors, gnawing on the bones, jumped to their feet.
“Chwiik! Intruder!”
“Haha, calm down.”
“???”
The orcs were even more flustered when this human stranger told them to calm down. Was he crazy?
“I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to teach you skills. I’ll teach you the skills to become stronger.”
Despite his generous proposal, one of the orc warriors responded very aggressively.
“Chwiik! Get lost!”
A bone flew at Choi Yeonseung, but he caught it with ease and nodded. He then beat up the orc warrior who had thrown the bone.
“Chwiik!
Chwik!!!”
“Now, this is one of the peak martial arts.”
“Chwik! Help! Chwiik!”
“Chwik! Let go of our companion!”
The orc warriors drew their weapons and pounced, but it was in vain. With that one bone, Choi Yeonseung disarmed all of them and proceeded to beat them up.
The orcs rolled on the ground.
“Chwiik... Y-you crazy human… What do you want from us...?”
“Chwik... I would rather... die...”
“Now, clench your fists and gather your internal energy. Try it.”
“Chwik... I don’t want to...”
Bam!
“Try it.”
“...Y-yes.”
***
[The power of existence has increased due to strong faith.]
The orc tribe grew incredibly fast under Choi Yeonseung’s guidance.
Thump—
“I have something for you guys to eat.”
“Ch... Chwik! Catching such a huge monster...!”
“Chwik! Chwiik!”
The orcs knelt before Choi Yeonseung, their gazes filled with awe. They had eaten well and learned many things in a short period of time. They had become many times bigger and stronger.
Choi Yeonseung dismantled the monster, handed out good-sized pieces of meat for the orcs to eat and waved.
It was time to go.
“Don’t forget what I taught you and keep training! In addition, don’t forget to pass on the martial arts to your fellow tribe members and other tribes. Martial arts are for everyone, not just you.”
He couldn’t know how effective this would be, since he had returned to the past, but Choi Yeonseung planned to scatter martial arts as much as possible. If he did that, wouldn’t his realm be more powerful when he returned to the present?
“Chwik... Was he the constellation of martial arts?”
“Chwik. That makes sense! The constellation sent an incarnation to teach us martial arts!”
Even after Choi Yeonseung had left, the orcs kept talking excitedly about him for a while.
“Chwik. I will practice according to the method of the constellation!
“Chwiik! No! I realized that doing this makes me train faster. This is the right thing to do!”
“Chwik! Are you going to violate what the constellation told you?”
“Chwiik! The constellation told us to train and become strong, not to be bound by his words!”
“Chwik! You are now misinterpreting the meaning of the constellation’s words! What you are learning is demonic martial arts!”
“Chwiik! You are bound by the old rules! I will defeat you and lead the warriors of the tribe in the right direction!”
“Chwik! Give it a try!”
As the orcs grew increasingly stronger, they started fighting among themselves. Divided by their disagreements over martial arts, the orcs brandished their weapons fiercely.
With their newfound strength, their fight was naturally bloody. By the time the battle ended, the tribe warriors’ numbers had dwindled considerably.
The tribe had essentially been destroyed.
“Chwik... In-tribe fighting is indeed foolish. I will travel around the Abyss and pass on martial arts to others.”
“Chwik. I will also go around the Abyss, teach martial arts, and live a life of atonement. I will use what I have learned from the constellation and spread it among the races of the Abyss.”
***
“That is why you shouldn’t live like that.”
“...”
“...”
The nightmare demons on the outskirts of the Abyss were taken aback by the sudden appearance of a powerful presence. The moment they saw this human with an astonishing desire, they rushed in while saying, “I’m eating well today!”
But naturally, Choi Yeonseung quickly overpowered them and started preaching. It was ridiculous, but he was so strong that the nightmare demons couldn’t even talk back to him.
‘Are you the subordinate or incarnation of a powerful constellation of the Abyss?’
‘Why is he coming to us and doing this?’
The nightmare demons drooled and waited for an opportunity while listening to Choi Yeonseung. All of them were desperate to cling to him if they had the chance.
Choi Yeonseung sighed.
“Your hearts are still full of desire…”
“N-no… Our eyes are open.”
“Your teachings have enlightened us. I will never lust after desires… Ghah! Give me your desire!”
After slamming the nightmare demon, whose beauty was akin to a dazzling jewel, on the ground, Choi Yeonseung said, “I will pass martial arts onto you. This is the Star Absorption Method martial art. At first glance, this martial art isn’t very different from your style, but if you learn and master it, it will definitely help you control your desires.”
“?”
“??”
The nightmare demons, who were masters of magic, were puzzled by Choi Yeonseung’s words. They didn’t understand why they had to learn martial arts or even what they were good for.
“Now, look. This is the foundation of martial arts.”
Choi Yeonseung grabbed a nightmare demon and corrected her posture, while the others looked at him with eyes burning with desire.
“Let me learn martial arts too!”
“I want to learn martial arts too!”
Even if they couldn’t absorb or eat his desire, it was enough just to stick close to it.
They were thrilled!
“...Stay focused.”
“I’m focused!...Touch.”
“I’m focused!...On your desire.”
Teaching the nightmare demons proved to be more challenging than the orcs, as they didn’t listen even if they were beaten or threatened. Thus, Choi Yeonseung went for a bolder approach.
“I will give the nightmare demon who has fully understood the Star Absorption Method a chance to indulge in my desire.”
“...!”
“!!!”
The eyes of the nightmare demons twitched.
From that point on, their overwhelming enthusiasm was on full display. They eagerly learned and trained in martial arts without any prompting from Choi Yeonseung.
However, the Star Absorption Method was among the very difficult martial arts. In fact, it was so difficult to learn that even the nightmare demons who had mastered the basics failed.
“Congratulations! You’ve mastered the Star Absorption Method.”
“Thank you!”
Still, in the end, Choi Yeonseung got a successful candidate.
The others looked at this one nightmare demon with envy.
“Ugh, I wish it’d been me!”
“How did you learn the Star Absorption Method?”
“I’ve learned to let go of desire.”
The nightmare demon looked at her peers with clear eyes. Not long ago, her eyes had also been blazing with desire, but after finally grasping the Star Absorption Method, her eyes were crystal clear, liberated from the clutches of desire.
A transcendent state devoid of desire!
Choi Yeonseung was also surprised.
‘I didn’t expect it to work so well.’
He had never thought a nightmare demon would be able to control her desire to this extent…
“Thank you for teaching me the Star Absorption Method, but I no longer crave desires. I am no longer the slave of my own desires, but their master.”
“...Y-yes… That’s great.”
“From now on, I will teach the Star Absorption Method to other nightmare demons. That is how I shall repay you for your teaching.”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung wasn’t the only one baffled; the other nightmare demons were whispering among themselves.
“Is this what happens when you learn the Star Absorption Method?”
“To be honest, life seems kind of dull if you learn it.”
“Do we have to learn that? I just want to absorb desires…”
Pretending not to hear their whispers, Choi Yeonseung prepared to leave. Seeing that he was coming across more Abyssal races, it seemed that he was approaching the central parts of the Abyss.
“Then please, spread the martial art.”
Once Choi Yeonseung left, the nightmare demon who understood the Star Absorption Method looked at the other nightmare demons.
“Let’s train in the Star Absorption Method. You too can overcome your desires. Don’t give up.”
“Do I have to?”
“I’m not that motivated…”
The moment Choi Yeonseung disappeared, the nightmare demons instantly lost their motivation for martial arts.
The one who had learned the Star Absorption Method tried to somehow encourage the other nightmare demons, but they were annoyed by her.
In any case, Choi Yeonseung was gone, so what was she going to do?
“Aah, the future of nightmare demons is bleak! You can’t think about the future because you are too focused on your immediate desires!”
“What are you saying?”
Despite the persuasions of the other nightmare demons, the one who had learned the Star Absorption Method didn’t give up. She visited several nightmare demon tribes, and as if that wasn’t enough, she even created a textbook for the Star Absorption Method.
“Nightmare demons! For the future...! Ghah! Why can’t I see the future?!”
“This is the first time I see a nightmare demon act like this. What is she saying?”
“Isn’t she a crazy nightmare demon?”
***
Choi Yeonseung wandered around the outskirts of the Abyss and found the first splendid kingdom.
“Amazing. Which constellation’s kingdom is it?”
Just looking at it from the outside, he could feel that a very powerful being dwelled there.
A languid and serene kingdom… He wondered which constellation it belonged to.
“Hey, may I ask who the ruler of this kingdom is?”
The gatekeeper of the kingdom frowned, clearly finding Choi Yeonseung’s question impudent.
“Don’t you dare utter the name of the Goddess of Defeat and Sloth in vain!”
“...”
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