By Zephyria 
The Ice Dragon bristled every scale on its body, overwhelmed by the pressure emanating from the man who was no longer the child of the Demon God, but the Demon God himself. A dense array of formless swords aimed at the void were fired simultaneously toward the Ice Dragon.
Normally, the greater the number of swords, the lower the density of the condensed energy. However, each formless sword contained a heavy essence of demonic energy.
Tens of thousands of overlapping scales worked in concert to block the formless swords with extreme yin energy, and the collision of the two energies in mid-air produced an intense explosion.
Belatedly, the Ice Dragon cast its blue eyes toward Ho-yeon, who was shielded by Cheon Mu-gyeong, but Ho-yeon was encased in a sturdy barrier of demonic energy.
Yet, was there not something strange? The man did not harm Ho-yeon, who was linked to his own energy, nor did he attempt to seize his dantian; instead, he seemed to be protecting him. It was not a sight one would expect from someone who had devoured the fire dragon’s inner core and come to claim the extreme yin while consumed by madness.
The Ice Dragon, having only recently awakened from a deep unconsciousness, incessantly exhaled blue and white smoke from its maw. As Cheon Mu-gyeong reached out his hand amidst the rain of formless swords, a chipped blade was drawn toward his hand as if being sucked in.
A sword aura made of demonic energy coated the blade that had once subjugated the fire dragon. Because the extreme qi was so highly compressed, the worn-out sword was not inferior to any divine weapon.
“Child.”
A blizzard swirled around Cheon Mu-gyeong’s entire body as he pointed the sword. Every time the Ice Dragon spoke, a storm erupted that no ordinary human could withstand.
“Was it you who protected my child?”
The Ice Dragon straightened its body, its armor-like scales pitted in places and bleeding blue blood. Enraged by the fire dragon’s arrival, the Ice Dragon had risen from the depths without even making the simple judgment that Ho-yeon might be in danger because of it.
Having abandoned its contract and invaded its space, the Ice Dragon had ascended blindly in search of the fire dragon’s energy, fearing the fire dragon might harm its child.
Even if the fire dragon had come instead of that man, far from being saved, Ho-yeon would have already died from the frost energy the dragon emitted and the stalactites that poured down like a rain of arrows. The Ice Dragon believed it had cherished Ho-yeon like its own child, but that was nothing more than hypocrisy.
Even if all the creatures of the world called it a divine beast, it was ultimately a beast that could not erase its wild instincts. The one who had actually protected the child was that man.
As the man drew the sword diagonally from bottom to top, the trajectory of the sword—which had been a mere line—expanded, forming a massive sword aura capable of cleaving the Ice Dragon’s body.
It was the third movement of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art: the Heavenly Demon’s Domain. It was the authority of the heavenly demon, where every single martial arts technique imbued with demonic energy became a lethal killing blow. The Ice Dragon unleashed its breath toward the sword aura, and an ice spear imbued with dragon power formed a sphere, shattering against the incoming sword aura in mid-air. Extreme yin true qi and demonic energy clashed repeatedly in the void.
Whenever the Ice Dragon’s breath attempted to freeze and shatter the demonic energy, Cheon Mu-gyeong’s demonic energy flared up even more violently, like a tidal wave. From the friction between the frozen atmosphere and the demonic energy, a snow mist rose, obscuring everything. Subsequently, dark red energy resembling lightning and blue ice shards scattered.
Boom! Deep fissures tore through the floor of the underground cave, where few spots remained intact.
The sword aura draped over Mu-gyeong’s blade changed its form, lunging at the Ice Dragon like a fire dragon opening its maw, and Mu-gyeong’s figure had already leaped from the ground, soaring into the air.
The formless sword, its tip aimed toward the ground, took on a solid form. It was a giant sword capable of piercing through the Ice Dragon’s crown and pinning it to the floor. The black and red sword was like a calamity descending from the heavens. It carried a profound internal power that seemed capable of wiping out the snowy mountains of the North Sea in a single strike if it were to plunge into the earth.
The Ice Dragon, having lived for ages, had once encountered the first heavenly demon, who was then past the age of thirty. Even then, it had been appalled to see the heavenly demon reach the state of transcending demonicity at such a young age, but the child before its eyes was destined to become a being that surpassed even the first heavenly demon.
He controlled the flow of demonic energy with his consciousness and had mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, yet he was free and not bound by specific forms. The Ice Dragon realized its conclusion—that he would run wild in madness even after subjugating the fire dragon—was wrong.
The man looked down at the Ice Dragon with a very clear crimson light, devoid of any madness. For the first time, the Ice Dragon had to look up at a human who had always been far beneath its feet.
“Demon God! If I die, my child will also die!”
The Ice Dragon roared. It was not to beg for its life. By transferring its energy to Ho-yeon, the Ice Dragon had already lost a considerable amount of power. Even if it hadn’t, it could not be confident that it would hold the upper hand in a fight against the man.
“I offered my own heart as a price to save my only child.”
The form of the sword, which seemed to contain divine punishment for the divine beast, wavered. However, the Ice Dragon did not expect the man to believe its words at face value.
Within the curtain of qi formed like a tomb, Ho-yeon was facing death. Seeing the child it wished to save losing its life once more, the Ice Dragon was prepared to do anything. But contrary to the Ice Dragon’s expectations, the formless sword did not become firmer, nor did it fly toward it.
Mu-gyeong’s gaze had shifted to Ho-yeon, and he could also see the seven-stringed zither lying there, relatively unscathed. It was a space where it was evident that the Ice Dragon had truly cherished Ho-yeon.
However, if it had truly cherished him, it should have sent Wi Ho-yeon to the surface long ago. Sensing Mu-gyeong’s unsettling gaze, the Ice Dragon exhaled frost like a sigh.
“With a single breath of mine, the child would freeze to death; with a single step, a snowstorm would rage. Simply watching over the child was all that was granted to me.”
Even now, fragmented ice crystals like sharp daggers swirled in all directions. Had it not been for the heavenly demon’s domain deployed to protect Ho-yeon, the savage wind would have torn the fragile skin to shreds, leaving nothing behind.
“To save the dying child, I decided to hand over everything I possessed. Yet, my child is dying once again.”
Mu-gyeong’s gaze, which had been lingering on Ho-yeon, finally reached the Ice Dragon. He instinctively recognized that the Ice Dragon was different from the fire dragon. While the fire dragon had seethed with madness like a demonic practitioner engulfed in demonic energy, the Ice Dragon seemed to possess reason.
“Originally, the fire dragon and I were one body, so it must have been an inevitable providence that you, Demon God, coveted the energy of my child who possesses the nature of extreme yin.”
The formless sword aimed at the Ice Dragon’s crown now remained only as a shimmering silhouette.
An impulse surged within him to slice the limbs of the Ice Dragon, who was wagging its tongue, and cast it into a deeper abyss; it felt as if kalpa fire were spreading through his body, threatening to scatter him into ashes. His right arm, which held the sword, was charred black, with ash fluttering away.
Black ash mixed with the blizzard drifted toward where Ho-yeon lay. Burnt ash attempted to invade the surroundings of the one to whom white snowflakes suited best.
It meant that the current state of Wi Ho-yeon was entirely his fault. Mu-gyeong wanted to deny it.
But he already knew that whenever he touched Ho-yeon, the heat of the fire dragon trapped in his right arm grew quiet. The reason it had become easier to breathe was not because it was the land of the North Sea, but because he had found stability by plundering Ho-yeon’s energy.
If so, would it not be enough to simply kill the Ice Dragon and take its inner core as originally intended?
Just as the formless sword became clear again, the Ice Dragon shouted. It was only able to make its voice heard because Mu-gyeong was protecting Ho-yeon.
“Demon God! If I die, my child will also die!”
Those words bound Mu-gyeong’s arms. Mu-gyeong’s body descended instantly, once again standing before Ho-yeon. The breath he felt was far too weak. His mother, Wi Ho-yeon—why were those he cherished and loved all so weak?
No, his mother was someone who had survived for a long time amidst harsh persecution and numerous assassination attempts by poison. Wi Ho-yeon had endured alone in a lonely space where bitter cold and hunger persisted, without harming anyone. The reason the Ice Dragon had bestowed its grace must have been because of the side Ho-yeon showed.
One could not be called strong simply because their martial arts were superior. A truly strong person must be one who can protect their own people, just as he had vowed during his time in the demon-taming cave.
“Save Wi Ho-yeon.”
The Demon God’s voice carried a demonic energy as heavy as the realm he possessed. Recalling the memory of having to concentrate intensely just to hear Ho-yeon’s voice, the Ice Dragon spoke lowly, suppressing its energy as much as possible. Yet, the blizzard showed no sign of stopping.
“If he must be saved right this instant, the only way is for you, Demon God, to die. You must give up the fire dragon’s inner core you possess.”
Asking him to give up the inner core he had already absorbed was equivalent to asking him to rip out his dantian and offer it. Was this merely the manipulation of the tongue of a selfish beast wearing the mask of a divine beast?
“However! If the child can embrace all of my energy according to my will, he can survive. That is also the arrangement I left for you.”
Arrangement?
The beast that had pushed him to the brink of death by transferring its energy to the fire dragon he had almost captured was talking nonsense. But Mu-gyeong did not care. What mattered to him was not the Ice Dragon’s petty guilt, but Wi Ho-yeon.
“If you cannot soothe the fire energy with extreme yin energy, you will surely suffer from the madness left by the fire dragon. But if my child awakens safely from his long sleep, he will suppress your energy.”
Mu-gyeong did not block the fire energy emanating from his entire body. As if it didn’t matter if his whole body burned away, he embraced Ho-yeon. He desperately stroked the hand of the one who could not regain consciousness. Even so, there was no return of body heat.
“If you wish to save the child, you must leave this place.”
Mu-gyeong could not transfer his fire energy to Ho-yeon. Because he had already devoured the extreme yin accumulated in Ho-yeon’s dantian, Ho-yeon could not withstand his fire energy.
“It was you who woke my child from his peaceful sleep. Thus, the time my child must sleep has increased beyond measure, infinitely.”
Having been forced awake while receiving the Ice Dragon’s energy, and then having that energy stolen, it was only natural that Ho-yeon’s life force was snapping.
The skin turning to ash and scattering was faster than the regeneration of Mu-gyeong’s body, which had reached the state of transcending demonicity. He had vowed to place a brazier on every path his feet touched, yet he could see no way to save Wi Ho-yeon, even if he burned his own body.
All of this happened because he had sought out the underground cave.
Mu-gyeong could delay no longer. He had to leave this space before Ho-yeon’s life was completely extinguished. He, who continued to plunder Ho-yeon’s energy, must no longer exist within the barrier the Ice Dragon had prepared at the risk of its life.
“I will wait.”
Mu-gyeong gave Ho-yeon, who looked as if he might melt away like snow, one last firm embrace.
“No matter when that may be.”