A Regressor’s Tale of Cultivation Chapter 804 Chapter 800: Future King (5)

As my consciousness returns, I realize I have drifted out of the narrative.

Before me, within the Primordial Chaos, a swarm of insects seethes. The black vermin filling the Heavenly Void Furnace are the manifestation of the Blood Insect Demon-Devil Great Method he once unleashed across the Head Realm.

The reason for my departure from the story is clear: its master allowed it.

Hong Fan takes shape before my eyes, his form coalescing from the mass of insects. I finally comprehend why he carries the presence of a sovereign.

"I shall ask you once more."

The Fate Supreme Deity, whose gaze I met within the tale, continues his interrogation through the Hong Fan standing here.

"Do you refuse to sever our tie because you believe you are qualified to maintain a connection with me?"

A pained smile touches my lips. I am currently inside the Heavenly Void Furnace, which is itself lodged within the Ascension Path. This very path is the place where I have screamed toward the Heavens more than anywhere else in my existence.

"O Heavens... it seems you have recovered every memory of your past life."

"Indeed. The moment you brought the Radiance Mantra into contact with me, the outcome was decided."

"You mentioned being bathed in light six times. In the tenth cycle... did you regain your sentience by making contact with me—a regressor—while you were still an egg of the mother centipede?"

"Discard these formalities and speak freely. I know your nature well enough to know you would likely speak with such ease anyway once you reached the rank of Heavenly King."

...

I am stunned by his ability to instantly perceive even my smallest habits, yet I have no way to refute him.

"...Fine. Hong Fan."

With a wry smile, I draw upon the clusters of green light to manifest a humanoid form before him.

"To shed the Vestige... does that imply you have departed from the Head Realm?" I ask, recalling his words from earlier in this life.

"What you call the Head Realm is merely a storage scroll crafted from the Qi of myself and Hwe-ah. It houses the Absolute of History, making it a place where the power of fate cannot easily reach. When fragments of the Miracle, such as yourselves, overlap in that space, it creates variables beyond even my control. Yes, it was only by leaving the Head Realm that I slowly regained my reason."

I feel he might have phrased that differently, but perhaps his mind is still slightly unstable from regaining consciousness while in the state of an insect.

As if reading my mind in real-time, Hong Fan’s gaze grows colder.

"...This existence called Hwe-ah..."

"One such as you has no business knowing."

His voice is grave as he shuts down any inquiry regarding Yang Hwe.

"Answer my question."

I... I harbor resentment toward the Heavens.

How could I have known that Hong Fan was the Heavens themselves?

'No, even if I hadn't known...'

I cannot deny that I desperately sought a target for my blame. I wanted to cast the agony I endured onto someone else. I simply didn't realize that the target of my anger was a connection I held dear.

I have been loathing my own connection while refusing to let go of it.

'Have I... held on all this time just so I could continue resenting him?'

From Hong Fan's perspective, how pathetic must I look? Cursing his face in anger, yet unable to release his hand.

But...

"...Even so. I... still do not truly know you."

There is a truth I must voice.

"Hong Fan. You do not truly know me either."

Crunch—

Suddenly, my body vanishes. Only my head remains, resting in Hong Fan's palm. I didn't see the cause; I only see the result.

"Your past, your present, and your future—I am aware of them all. I know your lineage, every thought you have ever entertained, and every action you will ever take."

"Then... what becomes of me?"

"Countless futures exist. There is a path where you perish this very instant, and another where you, as the first among the Enders, shatter your own destiny. There is no future hidden from my sight."

"Then... why do you insist on hearing my answer?"

He remains silent.

"If you can perceive and dictate everything, you could simply impose whatever future you desire upon me. Why bother asking for my response?"

"Divine Arts. It is merely a condition required to satisfy the power of the Great Mantra. Just answer me."

"And if I refuse? Does that mean the conditions aren't met?"

"That, too, is an answer."

"Hahaha."

I find myself laughing at the wisdom found in his response to my foolish question.

"...Thank you."

I offer my gratitude to Hong Fan.

"For what?"

"For following me."

"To an Ender like you, whose power even influences me, I will always follow."

"I possessed such an ability?"

"...Were you unaware?"

"...Regarding your physical form, it is a trait known as the Heavenly Devil Body."

"!?"

The revelation that I possess such an ability leaves me reeling.

"What? Truly? Then why didn't the Black Ghost Valley or the Devilish Immortal Sect Alliance claim me at the start?"

Hong Fan watches me silently before posing another question.

"I will ask this of you again in the future, but I shall ask it now as well. Tell me: why do you refuse to grasp the power of the Devilish?"

"What?"

"The Heavenly Devil Body requires two conditions to awaken: the selfishness to accept the sacrifice of others as natural, and the study of devilish arts."

As only a head, I can only blink in confusion at his words.

"Why do you avoid learning devilish arts?"

I remember Seo Ran's explanation—that devilish arts aren't just about absorbing energy, but about the exploitation of others.

"Why do you struggle so much to avoid sacrificing others?"

"...Mmm."

To be honest, it wasn't something I had ever consciously considered.

"...Right."

An awkward silence stretches between us. For a moment, a look of sheer absurdity crosses Hong Fan's eyes, as if he cannot read a thought that simply isn't there. But I can't help it. If the thought doesn't exist, what can I say?

I search for a logical explanation.

"Well... since I never encountered devilish arts in my first cycle, I suppose it just became a habit to avoid them. Then, because of Yuan Li, I developed a deep hatred for them and never bothered to learn. Maybe that's it?"

"Impossible. Many martial arts are categorized as devilish. In your zeroth cycle, you had opportunities to find the Star Draining Great Method in your family's yard or stumble upon the Berserk Devilish Art in the market. You could have even joined the Tuho Gang and learned low-tier devilish arts."

"Ah..."

His words spark a memory. In my backyard, near the Ju family's potato field, I actually did dig up a wooden box containing the Star Draining Great Method.

"I needed capital for my soap business, so I sold it for some pocket change..."

Based on his tone, that manual must have been highly compatible with my nature. I also recall seeing that Berserk Devilish Art in the marketplace, but I was so busy being extorted for taxes by the Lianshan City officials that I didn't have a moment to spare for it.

It was only after my regression that I had the chance to think about Cultivation. How was I supposed to consider devilish arts as an old man being slapped and robbed by tax collectors?

And as for the Tuho Gang... why would I join a pack of thieves who stole my family's rice? They even took my carefully brewed herbal liquor and my house's seed soy sauce! No one knows the sheer grief I felt that day.

'No matter how I look at it, there was never a situation where I would have learned devilish arts...'

If fate wanted me to become a devilish cultivator, it should have at least lowered my taxes. Reading my thoughts, Hong Fan sighs deeply.

"How simplistic."

"Isn't everything truly precious found in simplicity?"

"Imperfect and contradictory."

Thinking back on the simple life of my zeroth cycle, I find the right answer for Hong Fan.

"How can a human ever be complete, Hong Fan? To be small, simple, flawed, and contradictory—that is the essence of being human."

One can love certain parts of someone while hating others.

"I didn't only scream in anger at the Heavens."

Humans naturally focus on and cling to painful memories. But surely, there are good ones too.

"There were moments when I was truly grateful to you."

When I first arrived in this world, learned to speak, and found a home. When my soap business succeeded. When Mrs. Ju married and gave birth to a healthy daughter. When my liquor and soy sauce fermented perfectly. When the Ju family threw me an eightieth-birthday party before I passed. When I first regressed and felt the hope of a new future.

After regressing, I felt profound gratitude many times over.

"A person's heart is meant to both hate and love... that is how I see it, Hong Fan."

So, I have a heart that treasures Hong Fan as a friend, even while I hate him as the personification of the Heavens. At the same time, I want to play a prank on him or force-feed him potatoes, yet I am also sincerely thankful to the Heavens.

"So... yes, I resent you. But I also cherish and trust you. And that feeling will not fade."

"Then the resentment will not fade either."

"Mmm... in the world outside, you're learning martial arts from me, aren't you? At the very least, that version of you acts loyal and follows my lead."

Hong Fan’s memory spans eons. Reaching this point took trillions of years. Even the hundred million years that pass in a single day within the Heavenly Void Furnace is an unbearable weight. Consequently, the version of me outside—who doesn't share these memories—has already lived through several centuries.

Based on the progression of the lightning transformation curse, that version of me has only about a century left.

The True Immortal of Heavenly Punishment.

From what I’ve gathered through the soul fragment of the Torch Candle Heavenly Lord, the 'blessing' placed upon me by the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity Do Gon cannot be broken simply by practicing the Cutting Principle for a long time. Even with the rapid cultivation provided by the Heavenly Void Furnace, there are limits.

'Unless the me who holds these memories inside the furnace goes out and severs it personally... it is impossible.'

The version of me outside is too insignificant to break the chains of Heavenly Punishment. Yet, that weak version of myself is currently tutoring the Future King Fate Supreme Deity, Hong Fan Gu Ju. I am teaching Martial Arts to the Master of Mount Sumeru.

"You said it yourself, Hong Fan. That Martial Arts is a technique for killing, and that self-cultivation is the domain of Immortal Cultivation, right?"

"I did."

"There is a proverb: do not be too taut, nor too loose."

A middle path between extremes. Since it came from the Buddha of Earth, it must hold truth.

"It can be an art of killing, certainly. But it can also be a path of self-improvement, much like Cultivation. It holds values beyond slaughter. To find balance among those values and reflect upon oneself... that is what Martial Arts is."

"It is the same with my feelings for you. I resent you, and as you said, that won't change. But my trust and affection for you won't vanish either. If we maintain a balance between them... a heart that is neither too loose nor too taut... isn't that a good connection?"

"I will not sever this tie. If you choose to cut it from your end, I cannot stop you, but I will not be the one to let go. I am a simple, ordinary man. I don't easily abandon what I've gained."

If it were a toxic connection like Yuan Li, the Makli Clan, or the Tuho Gang—where one side only caused harm—it would be different. But when we have exchanged both good and bad, I cannot walk away. That is the nature of my friendship with Hong Fan and my relationship with the Heavens.

"What if everything I gave you was born of malice?"

Hong Fan looks down at me, his eyes devoid of emotion. They are hollow, filled only with self-loathing and emptiness.

"I orchestrated your meeting with Buk Hyang-hwa. I made you fall in love. Her death on that specific day and time was a fate I decreed. I am the creator who fashioned you 'Enders' as playthings. You are nothing more than my dolls."

Kugugugugu!

Why? Hong Fan seems agitated by my words.

"After seeing the full story, do you still dare to speak of balance in my presence?"

Woo-woooong—

The narrative begins to unfold again. Perhaps fearing I would lose my mind if shown the true form of the Future King, he dampens the history, presenting it in a way a mortal mind can grasp.

The boy who would become the Future King moves toward the eleventh chapter.

Flutter-flutter—

The pages of countless books fly past, revealing the condensed chronicle of the Future King. He seeks restitution. From that day forward, he begins to regress in earnest. He seizes the Radiance Mantra, using the authority of the Future King to dismantle and rebuild it, creating a mantra capable of rewriting history itself.

Tsuaaaaat—

He regresses, and the timeline fractures. These timelines converge to form a specific vessel: the body of the previous Creator God.

'I see.'

Through this, Hong Fan realizes the truth: the predecessor is being reborn. Not as the same absolute entity, but likely as an impersonal deity. Yet, even as an impersonal force, it will carry the predecessor's will, imposing it upon the Supreme Deities and True Emperors to force them to find a true answer.

"An answer, then..."

He can no longer evade his burden. Hong Fan, who once demanded answers from those above him, has become the supreme being who must provide them. Furthermore, he must honor his vow to the gods of good to guide others toward becoming True Emperors.

However, he discovers a frustrating reality: a True Emperor cannot directly interfere in the ascension of another.

This was a safeguard left by the predecessor to prevent an established Emperor from simply elevating those who share their own ideology. Of course, Hong Fan sees ways to circumvent this.

'I can fulfill my promise through other means. But... who should I choose to support?'

According to the predecessor's will, the candidate must be different from himself.

"By whose metric is 'different' measured? I have no need for such rules."

The will of the predecessor also insists the candidate must have little connection to him.

"Who decides the depth of a connection? In this realm, I am the only standard. That rule is also useless."

Finally, the predecessor's will claims the candidate must be a sacred being, recognized by the Absolute.

"What does it mean to be sacred?"

Hong Fan concludes that sacredness is either a nobility so bright it blinds or a depravity so foul it sickens. He questions if an ordinary being is barred from such heights.

Hong Fan chooses to disregard the predecessor's will entirely. Anyone can become wretched enough to cause nausea, and anyone can become noble enough to dazzle the eyes. He wants to believe that beings like himself are not born chosen, but that everyone carries that potential.

"From this moment... I shall begin the selection of new Emperors."

Under the name of the Origin Essence of Radiance—a power emanating from him—Hong Fan begins to illuminate Mount Sumeru. While supporting the members of Heuk Sa Hall, he forms a new organization: Radiance Hall.

It is a group born from Heuk Sa Hall, a collection of virtuous people gathered by Hong Fan to find a new True Emperor. Once the foundation is set, Hong Fan turns back the clock. Entering a new timeline, he begins to alter history itself.

His reason is simple: 'Because I wish to build this world alongside you...'