By Zephyria 
Ho-yeon’s body trembled like an aspen leaf caught in the winds of the North Sea. His hands and feet were completely numb, and the sensation of falling—as if the ground beneath him had vanished—seemed endless, enough to make every hair on his body stand on end.
As he fell, mixed with snow and boulders, Ho-yeon looked up at Cheon Mu-gyeong. A rock the size of a house poured down above them, and his vision soon turned pitch black.
In the void where there was nowhere to escape, the moment Ho-yeon sensed death, a massive palm power of demonic energy erupted from Cheon Mu-gyeong’s outstretched hand, striking the falling rock head-on.
Before he could feel relieved by the boulders shattering in all directions, the recoil of the palm power slammed them downward even faster. As they sank endlessly into the abyss hundreds of feet below, Ho-yeon fought harder to keep his consciousness.
No matter how great Cheon Mu-gyeong was, Ho-yeon wasn’t certain he could remain safe while protecting him. The situation was already dire enough just blocking the massive trees and falling rocks that were being ripped out by the roots and crashing toward them.
Still clutching him tightly, Ho-yeon looked down this time. He couldn’t even gauge where the end of the deep cavern lay, as not a single sliver of light reached the bottom. Spotting one place where a faint light seeped through, a blue aura began to envelop Ho-yeon’s entire body.
Previously, to descend from the cliff at the thatched cottage where Cheon Mu-gyeong had confined him, he had created ice footholds. Back then, he only had to support his own weight, but now, the weight of Cheon Mu-gyeong and the momentum of the fall were added to it. He didn’t know if it would work, but simply clinging to Cheon Mu-gyeong like this was no different from welcoming death with open arms.
The blue aura extending from Ho-yeon’s body raced down the ice wall. The pulverized rocks and clumps of snow adhered firmly through frost energy, creating a massive ice platform.
Of course, if they fell onto the platform as they were, it would be the perfect way to break a limb or leave this world from the impact. However, for now, it was right to inform Cheon Mu-gyeong of the platform’s existence.
It was before Ho-yeon could urgently cry out, “Platform! Platform…!” Cheon Mu-gyeong released qi toward the falling rocks and used the recoil to pivot toward the ice wall. Then, with his bare hands—without even a sword—he slammed his hand into the ice wall. A thunderous boom, as if his arm were about to explode, rang numbly in Ho-yeon’s ears.
K-crack! The ice was ground away by his hand in succession, and sparks flew from the intense friction. Eventually, the ice wall shattered once more, and the fall did not stop. Fortunately, the descent speed had decreased significantly. Ho-yeon held onto the hope that if they could just reach the ice platform safely, his body wouldn’t be completely ruined.
However, he prepared himself to lose at least one leg. As he exploded the frost energy condensed in his dantian, the moisture in the air scattered into a blizzard.
As snow and ice powder piled up thickly on the ice platform, a way to disperse the impact once more was created. Unaware of what he had achieved, Ho-yeon simply exhaled white breaths repeatedly.
Cheon Mu-gyeong’s red demonic energy and Ho-yeon’s blue yin energy—two natures so different they could never harmonize—swirled together in the deep cavern. It was a feast of qi, both striving to stop their fall.
When the demonic energy condensed in the hand embedded in the ice wall surged again, Cheon Mu-gyeong’s body finally landed on the ice platform. Even though soft, freshly made snow had piled up, a heavy thud followed without fail.
Ho-yeon’s two legs were still dangling in the air, so the impact on his body was far less than he had expected. It was because Cheon Mu-gyeong had absorbed all the aftermath of the fall.
Haa, haa. Ho-yeon looked at Cheon Mu-gyeong, trying to calm his frantically beating heart. He was so short of breath that his chest felt tight, as if he had sprinted a great distance.
Cheon Mu-gyeong’s right hand was still embedded in the ice wall. Strong fire energy was continuously flowing from his bulging forearm. The reason the ice wall couldn’t hold was likely due to his heat.
Cheon Mu-gyeong scrutinized Ho-yeon, who was held in his arms. Despite the chaos, there wasn’t a single scratch on Ho-yeon’s body.
Ho-yeon didn’t realize it, but it was thanks to Cheon Mu-gyeong extending his protective gang qi not just over himself, but over Wi Ho-yeon as well.
Ho-yeon tried to check Cheon Mu-gyeong’s condition, but unlike the other man, whose eyes were sharp even in the dark, he could only see a dim silhouette.
“Are… are you okay?”
“The situation is far from it.”
Despite that, his tone remained indifferent. Still, I’m glad you’re alright since I can hear your voice. Ho-yeon, who had been dazed throughout the sudden ordeal, finally let out a very small smile. It was accompanied by a look of relief, as if saying, I’m alive.
But that only lasted a moment. Crack, cr-crack. An ominous sound echoed beneath their feet once again. Ho-yeon’s smiling face stiffened, and he bit his lower lip. It seemed the platform could no longer hold.
“You… on your own… you can get out of here, right?”
Ho-yeon’s trembling voice was frail. Contrary to the voice, Cheon Mu-gyeong felt Ho-yeon clutching him with all his might and slowly looked up. The depth was considerable, incomparable to the cliff of strange rocks where the cottage had been. He estimated it to be at least five hundred jang.
Even for him, climbing up didn’t look easy. To make matters worse, the ice wall was less solid, and due to the heat pouring from his own body, even if he climbed the wall, he might be caught in cracks as the wall split repeatedly.
Furthermore, to climb like that, he would have to carry Wi Ho-yeon on his back, but the falling rocks were the problem. Though they fell intermittently compared to before, the sounds coming from above were still ominous. As if the mountain’s wrath had not cooled, eerie noises continued to echo toward the deep cavern.
Moreover, even a small pebble falling from that height possessed significant force. If Wi Ho-yeon were hit, he would surely lose consciousness. If that happened, Ho-yeon, carried on his back, might lose his grip and fall.
As cracks appeared in the ice platform again, Ho-yeon released frost energy, trying to freeze it somehow. But its collapse was only a matter of time.
“Still… if it’s alright, it would be nice if you took me with you… I’m absolutely not forcing you.”
Ho-yeon, whose trembling had subsided somewhat, convulsed again at the violent roar from above. If it’s not possible, it can’t be helped, but if possible, me too… Repeating similar words, Ho-yeon deliberately tried not to look at the pitch-black darkness.
Ho-yeon had been trapped in the underground caves of the Eternal Snow Mountain for a very long time. As the children beside him died one by one, the hope of returning to the surface gradually vanished. Although the ice dragon had been there, it was a being he could not snuggle with. Had he done so, his entire body would have frozen to death.
At the mere age of nine, when he needed his parents’ care, he faced cold, loneliness, and countless deaths, relying only on dim luminous stones in a place where the sun never reached, soothing his hungry stomach with fasting pills.
Of course, by enduring and surviving, he was eventually able to come outside and care for the children of Eumbyeol Hall, and he was able to meet Cheon Mu-gyeong. But if he were told to go back to that time, he felt he could never endure it again, even knowing the future that would unfold.
Perhaps if he hadn’t known, but just as one who has experienced hell never wishes to return to it.
Once, just seeing the numerous caves scattered across the Eternal Snow Mountain was enough to make his feet freeze in place. Only Ho-yeon knew how many resolutions he had to make to find the memorial stone, and how terrifying it was to recall that wretched loneliness.
“I believe I told you.”
Ho-yeon, who had been barely suppressing the memories of the past thanks to the heat Cheon Mu-gyeong provided, opened his eyes in wonder.
“I’ve never escorted anyone back.”
He looked up again at the large hole of the cavern.
“Therefore, the place where you belong is not here, but this cult.”
Despite the blunt words, they were incredibly comforting. Without even knowing the depth of what he said, Ho-yeon nodded repeatedly.
Rumble! The wrath of the mountain, which had been heard from afar, was finally crashing down again. This time, Cheon Mu-gyeong felt it instinctively. With the landslide starting anew, this place would be completely buried.
Because an earthquake had also begun, the ice platform shattered completely, and the two fell once more. He had thought it wouldn’t be easy, given it was a mountain imbued with bitter cold, but at this point, he even felt a sense of malice, wondering if the mountain was intentionally trying to snuff out his and Wi Ho-yeon’s lives.
Cheon Mu-gyeong let out a hollow laugh. How long had it been since he’d had such a sentimental thought?
Ho-yeon couldn’t even scream properly, his white hair fluttering in the wind. Mu-gyeong gripped the back of Ho-yeon’s head firmly, his red eyes glowing intensely.
At the end of an abyss even more cruel and deeper than the first fall, the ground finally began to appear, but unfortunately, frozen rocks and ice walls jutted out unevenly. He could feel a killing intent of ice crystals that could shatter thousand-year-old rocks and ancient trees in an instant.
Furthermore, the combined weight of himself and Wi Ho-yeon now possessed a destructive power as if the Great Mountain itself were falling from the sky.
There was no leisure to spit out the thick curses rising in his throat. Just as the ground reached right in front of Mu-gyeong, he tightened his hold on Ho-yeon and thrust his right hand toward the floor.
Using the Heavenly Demon’s Domain, a shockwave palm that exploded internal energy all at once, he poured demonic energy toward the ground. The red energy erupting from him headed for the surface like thousands of snakes. It also looked like a dragon opening its maw to roar not at the sky, but at the earth.
Boom! The entire cavern shook, and the ground was gouged out in all directions. Due to the reaction, their bodies jolted violently in the air, slowing their speed, but they fell further down. From above, massive rocks and trees poured down along with an immense weight of snow.
If he pushed Ho-yeon above him, he wouldn’t be safe from the natural debris falling from above, and if they fell as they were, it was obvious that Ho-yeon’s head and limbs would be crushed. In either case, Wi Ho-yeon’s death was predicted.
“What I want… is martial arts.”
“I may have surpassed the master, but I’ve never taught anyone.”
“Are you saying you’ll teach me?”
“What should I do. I’ve never taught someone with a constitution that shouldn’t learn martial arts.”
“You said the Heavenly Demon isn’t human. Th-then, you should be able to do everything.”
“If I cannot. Then am I still human?”
Cheon Mu-gyeong seemed to regret it for a brief moment. He thought that if he had at least taught him how to wrap himself in protective gang qi, there might have been more options. But he didn’t think deeply.
He abandoned the protective gang qi surrounding his own body and immediately draped his true qi over Wi Ho-yeon. He could have applied it to both of them as he did during the first fall, but then he couldn’t guarantee Wi Ho-yeon’s safety.
The more the area of protective gang qi is expanded, the more its defensive power drops. Therefore, he had no choice but to condense it exclusively for Wi Ho-yeon.
He draped the gang qi that should have protected his own body over Wi Ho-yeon’s entire form, releasing only the purest demonic energy. The red demonic energy that enveloped Ho-yeon’s body just before the impact clung with utmost tenacity.
Thud—! With a powerful vibration, Cheon Mu-gyeong’s body slammed into the ground.