Chapter 1 …..
Four middle-aged men were fawning over a young man, their faces stiff with tension.
“Senior Brother, this is the Thousand-Day Drunk. They say one cup leaves you hazy as if you’d been drunk for a thousand days.”
“It’s incredibly hard to get our hands on. We searched far and wide to present it to you, Senior Brother.”
“Senior Brother, please take this as well. It’s called the Heaven-Reversing Rebirth Pill. They say it defies the heavens and grants eternal youth.”
“It is our sincerest devotion.”
They addressed the young man—clearly younger than themselves—with utmost respect, bowing again and again. Sitting at the head seat, the young man let out a faint laugh and crooked his finger.
“Oh? Then maybe I should at least taste the gifts you’ve worked so hard to gather.”
“It’s an honor, Senior Brother.”
Glug—
The young man tipped back the cup, downing the Thousand-Day Drunk in one go.
“Ahh! That hits the spot!”
“Does the taste suit you?”
“Mm. This is fantastic. Pour me more.”
“Yes! We have plenty!”
He drank nonstop, emptying every cup they poured.
“Senior Brother, please try this as well.”
One of the men handed him the Heaven-Reversing Rebirth Pill. The young man snatched it and tossed it into his mouth without hesitation.
Chew—
Gulp—
As they watched his throat bob, the middle-aged men shared subtle smiles.
“Oh! This tastes good too. I can already feel my body getting younger.”
“Of course! If it pleases Senior Brother, we are satisfied.”
The young man chuckled at their flattery.
“What’s going on? Why are you suddenly acting like this? You’re all acting suspicious.”
“What do you mean by that? Suspicious? We’re hurt, Senior Brother. Can’t you feel our loyalty?”
“Yes, everything is for you, Senior Brother. Just a small token of devotion.”
Time passed.
Eventually, the young man collapsed, drunk out of his mind.
“Senior Brother? Senior Brother?”
Pretending to panic, they shook him.
Snore—
Hearing him snore, the four finally wiped the sweat from their foreheads in relief.
“Damn bastard! Finally asleep.”
“Hey, watch your mouth! What if he hears you?”
“That Thousand-Day Drunk knocks someone out for a thousand days with just one cup, and we mixed in a fistful of the Dream-Devouring Soul-Severing Powder. Even an immortal wouldn’t wake up from that.”
“And he even swallowed the Heaven-Reversing Rebirth Pill—supposedly turns a person back into a newborn.”
“You don’t think it won’t work… do you?”
“We already confirmed he can be affected by medicine—just not a second time. As long as it’s the first dose, it works.”
“After all the torment we went through, being caught by that monster…”
“But when does he shrink!? Is he really going to turn into a baby?”
“The monks from the Western Esoteric Sect swore he would. Said the pill returns a person to infancy. Damn it, I saved that thing so I could live a second life later.”
“But it’s not working.”
“Did those bald bastards scam you?”
“No. If they lied, I said I’d erase their entire sect from the earth. Their eyes weren’t lying. Damn it. I guess it just doesn’t work on that monster. I should’ve taken it instead.”
“So… what now?”
Just then—
“Mm….”
He merely twitched in his sleep, but the four men jumped back dozens of steps, terror-stricken. Sweat drenched their faces.
When he kept snoring peacefully, they exhaled in relief.
“Haah… I feel like I just lost ten years of my life.”
“Same.”
“If we stay here, we’re dead men. L-Let’s get out of here.”
“Y-Yeah. Anywhere out of his sight.”
They fled at full speed.
Only when they’d run far enough that the pavilion was completely out of sight did they stop.
“Huff… I’ve only used my full light-body technique twice in my life.”
“Same. First time was when we tried running away from him.”
“And even when we went all out, he caught up instantly. That thing isn’t human.”
“He doesn’t even have internal energy. Where does that strength come from?”
“Don’t say horrifying things! Imagine that monster actually had internal energy…”
“He blew apart a mountain with his bare fists alone.”
“Don’t call that a human. That’s a monster.”
“Monster isn’t enough. And his personality—damn rotten to the core. He’s a devil.”
“Hey, enough talking. What do we do now?”
“What else? We run, change our identities, and live in hiding.”
“Right. If we disguise ourselves well enough, he’ll never find us.”
“Well enough? We need a total change! That’s why I learned the Thousand-Face Bone-Shrinking Technique.”
“You learned THAT? You selfish bastard!”
“I’ll pass it on.”
“Teach me too!”
“And me!”
“Fine, fine. I’ll copy the manual and share it. You all hide and learn it.”
“All right.”
“With the scent-erasing pills and a new appearance, there’s no way that monster can track us.”
They turned toward the pavilion, gnashing their teeth.
“Damn monster. Let’s never meet again.”
“Don’t even show up in my dreams.”
“Ha! If the martial world knew that the Four Heavenly Demon Lords—once the terror of all the central plains—were trembling in fear of a man with no internal energy…”
“They probably think we just disappeared. No one knows we were captured by that monster.”
“And he sucked us dry of every technique we knew.”
“Damn monster. He’s smart too—he absorbed every martial art we showed.”
“Heaven is unfair. Thinking about how we lived terrified under his shadow…”
“…Still, saying we were terrified sounds a bit harsh.”
“What are you talking about? You were the fastest to fall to your knees!”
“Someone might think that’s true if you say it like that.”
“It is true. Look at the calluses on your forehead from bowing so much.”
Embarrassed, the man covered his forehead.
“No shame in it. We faced a natural disaster. Humans can’t defeat nature. You either submit or run—just like we’re doing.”
“Hard to believe we were once called the natural disaster…”
“Stop. It’s embarrassing. Besides, we only met that monster because we were running away after losing to that old bastard, Emperor of Heavenly Might.”
“To think someone that strong existed in the central plains…”
“We still need revenge on the One Emperor Eight Kings…”
“Forget that. The Emperor and Eight Kings aren’t the problem. Staying alive is. When that monster wakes up, he’ll come looking for us. We need the perfect hiding place. We’ve got a thousand days.”
“Might not be a thousand. He might wake in ten.”
“Shit! Then we hurry.”
“L-Let’s head to the Great Desert first. Learn the Thousand-Face Bone-Shrinking Technique.”
“What about returning to Demon-Heaven Valley?”
“Mm… thought about it… but can Demon-Heaven Valley handle that monster?”
“…No.”
All four shook their heads.
“Not a chance.”
“Right. If we lead him there, the valley demons will skin us alive.”
“So we lie low. That’s the safest option.”
“Damn it. We just wanted to test the strength of the central plains. How did it end up like this?”
“At least we already delivered the intel on the Emperor and Eight Kings to Demon-Heaven Valley.”
“What about intel on the monster?”
“…Bury it. If they go poking around because of us… YOU gonna take responsibility?”
“N-Nope. Let’s bury it.”
Once, these four men plunged the martial world into a dark age.
Children stopped crying at the mention of their names.
The red-haired man: Kang Mujin, the Heaven-Dominating Demon, master of every weapon in existence.
The scholar-robed man: Ye Yahyeon, the Poison-Soul Demon, who could wield any herb or toxin.
The bearded man: Baek Ryeongso, the Formation-Annihilating Demon, master of every formation under heaven.
The masked man with slanted eyes: Jin Muryang, the Ghost-Slaying Demon, a god among assassins.
Alone, each would have ruled the world.
Together, they were unstoppable—no martial sect lasted a breath before them.
That era was remembered as a calamity that shattered the heavens—Bungcheonjigeop, the Cataclysm of Falling Skies.
Then, one day, they vanished.
Rumors said they’d been defeated at Tianwu Castle…
By Emperor of Heavenly Might, Jeok Mugun.
The only man to ever defeat the Four Heavenly Demons.
The martial world, freed from terror, rebuilt itself around Tianwu Castle. Ten years passed.
The central plains recovered—and grew even stronger.
Ironically, the terror of the Four Heavenly Demons made the martial world stronger than before.
“Hey, enough reminiscing. Let’s go. I don’t want to stay here another second.”
