MDR 01

Chapter – 01

The Supreme Martial Arts Leader, Cheon Gi-rin.

He was so strong that he was called the strongest martial arts leader in history, yet there was one peculiar epithet attached to him.

That epithet was “Mad Demon” (狂魔).

The “Demon” part—usually reserved for cultists or dark sect members.

And the first character, “Mad,” wasn’t just exaggeration—it literally meant insane.

For a righteous leader of the martial world, rumored to have reached unparalleled levels of mastery, having such a title was not without reason.

The first reason was his personality.

Usually, he smiled broadly and appeared cheerful, but if something caught his interest, he would pursue it relentlessly until he satisfied his whims.

The reason he became the leader of the martial world was simple:

He didn’t like the previous leader.

Thinking he could do better, he knocked down the previous supreme leader. Though the Five Great Sects and the Nine Major Clans united to challenge him, Cheon Gi-rin’s overwhelming strength secured his victory.

He defeated Mo Yong-se’s clan—the one who resisted him the most—in just a single day. With the downfall of the once-mighty Mo Yong-se Clan, other clans and sects chose to stay cautious.

The second reason lay in his face.

It wasn’t that he was insanely handsome because of being “mad.” His looks were completely ordinary.

The true reason was his smile.

He always had a faint smile, and the stronger the opponent, the brighter it became; the harder the challenge, the wider it grew.

Once, he had faced the then-Heavenly Demon of the Demon Cult alone. Witnessing the duel, onlookers remarked:

“Cheon Gi-rin… that wasn’t a human smile. It belonged to a madman… a Mad Demon… Yes, that smile is truly the Mad Demon’s…”

There were many other reasons, but in short, he was recognized by all of the martial world as the Mad Demon.

And now, this supreme leader and Mad Demon, Cheon Gi-rin, found himself on the brink of a cliff.

“Haha… Am I too popular? It’s a problem if everyone likes me this much.”

Rumors that the Demon Cult had joined forces with the Blood Sect had reached the Kunlun Sect, who called on the Martial World Leader for help.

Cheon Gi-rin had come out to warm up his body after a long time, only to find an unexpected festival awaiting him.

A festival intended to kill the Mad Demon, Cheon Gi-rin.

“The foolish people from the Nine Major Clans and Five Great Sects all gathered here… And that one… looks like the next-generation Heavenly Demon. Are you a Blood Demon? Wow, you’re ugly.”

Despite Cheon Gi-rin’s mockery and taunts, no one reacted.

On the contrary, they radiated even more tension.

Seeing this, Cheon Gi-rin realized they were fully prepared.

“Well, of course. These top-tier fighters from both the righteous and demonic sects didn’t just come here to play. Huh… thinking about it, it’s almost like a righteous-and-demonic war is about to break out.”

At that, the head of Shaolin, Master Gong Seong, stepped forward.

“Namu Amitabha. There is no need for the master to worry. The world shall believe that in this battle, the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon overpowered the leader, resulting in his death.”

“Wow… clever. That trick came from that bald head? Unbelievable. Ah! Maybe because he’s bald, it rolls better?”

“Namu Amitabha.”

Master Gong Seong of Shaolin was not only huge in size but also known for a fiery temper—and indeed, he was.

However, when Cheon Gi-rin mocked him, Gong Seong simply muttered “displeased” and retreated, showing he was seriously determined.

“Hmph… that makes things less fun.”

At that moment, Cheon Gi-rin vanished.

Everyone scrambled to find him, only to see him grabbing the heads of the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon. Before anyone could react, both were already crashing to the ground.

Bang!

The two, regarded as the strongest in the demonic sect, were powerless against Cheon Gi-rin.

“What now? The Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon, who were supposed to defeat me, are down like this…”

An overwhelming display of strength.

But such overwhelming power made Cheon Gi-rin careless.

And in that brief moment of negligence, a threat struck his neck.

“I knew you would act this way, Master.”

Gong Seong’s eyes opened, revealing golden light. At that moment, something grabbed Cheon Gi-rin’s feet.

“Really?”

To his surprise, blood from the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon had intertwined and risen, forming a combined martial technique.

A technique Cheon Gi-rin had never seen because they had never collaborated before.

“This is the Cheonma Blood Jade technique. After your death, it will never appear in the world again.”

“Really? But… why are you the only one talking? Are the others mute? Or did you lock their mouths?”

Cheon Gi-rin mocked while trying to pull his foot free, but it didn’t budge.

“Master, no matter how much you struggle, it’s useless. A technique forged with the lives of the Heavenly Demon and Blood Demon. Even a Mad Demon like you cannot escape it, so surrender your neck…”

Screech!

Gong Seong tried to continue, but he couldn’t.

Cheon Gi-rin, from a distance of three zhang (about 9 meters), had severed Gong Seong’s neck with his bare hands—without the slightest weapon or visible energy.

Seeing this unprecedented martial technique, both the righteous and demonic sects were shocked, drawing their weapons.

“Useless to struggle… Then, let me struggle a bit now. Who wants to go first?”

Struggle.

It was useless.

I was dead.

Ah… I had struggled so hard.

Even someone like me started tiring after facing over a hundred opponents. They weren’t random fighters—they were real experts.

Exhausted, I made a mistake and was pierced by countless spears.

I had no regrets about dying. I had lived my life to the fullest. If this was the price, I accepted it.

I thought I could just enjoy death.

If it was just disappearing, that would have been enough.

But… why were my eyes opening?

I was definitely dead. I had felt my body pierced, my heart ripped out, my neck severed.

Yet… I was alive.

In someone else’s body.

Cheon Gi-rin opened his eyes five days ago.

In front of him was a rough-looking man, and Cheon Gi-rin, waking up, immediately started crying uncontrollably.

The man’s name was Mo Yong-hyuk—the father of Mo Yong-jin, the original owner of the body Cheon Gi-rin now inhabited.

Yes.

Cheon Gi-rin was alive again.

With his memories intact, now in Mo Yong-jin’s body.

“Ugh…”

Even after five days, Cheon Gi-rin felt bewildered in this unfamiliar body.

A sudden rebirth in someone else’s body could explain it, but the bigger issue was the stark difference between his original body and Mo Yong-jin’s.

A thirty-nine-year-old man in a seven-year-old child’s body.

And not just any child, but an exceptionally weak one.

On the very first day in this body, Cheon Gi-rin immediately noticed something.

Mo Yong-jin had a special constitution called the Nine Yang Veins (구양절맥).

It was a famous but tricky constitution. Unlike the Nine Yin Veins, it caused meridians to be disconnected, preventing qi from circulating properly, with yang constantly expanding to suppress yin, eventually disrupting the body’s balance and shortening lifespan.

The cure was simple: eat well, get strong, and survive.

Cheon Gi-rin knew this constitution well—he had it in his youth.

“Sigh… the new body also has Nine Yang Veins.”

He got up and immediately began meditating in a lotus position, moving his hands in circular motions as if holding a giant orb.

He was performing External Circular Technique (Oewon Gong), a qigong method that allowed him to generate and circulate qi outside the body.

Normally, someone with disconnected meridians couldn’t cultivate qi, but Cheon Gi-rin could.

It required extreme precision, concentration, and control, making it impossible for others to replicate.

Its advantage: even with broken meridians, qi could be cultivated.

Its drawback: it was exhausting.

Mo Yong-jin broke into sweat and soon had to stop.

It was frustrating to have a good qigong method but be unable to use it due to the constitution. But there was no choice.

To live, he had to strengthen his body and repair the meridians.

At first, he had considered just dying again. He had no obsession with life.

Life would hardly be more enjoyable than before.

And his circumstances were grim: poor family, a tough fate awaiting.

But after a day, he thought: hadn’t he left some things undone?

On the second day, he pondered what he hadn’t done. By the third day, he started Oewon Gong.

There were many things he hadn’t tried.

He had become the strongest, led the martial world, but hadn’t married. He hadn’t demolished an entire sect, only clans. He hadn’t played much with the darker forces…

He realized the world still held many things untried, and his hunger for them grew.

He stood up, slapped his cheeks, and stretched.

“Ugh… someday I’ll have to take on the Imperial Palace. I can’t just rest. Those elites in the palace are strong… maybe I can even face the emperor… life’s about that, isn’t it?”

The former supreme leader, Cheon Gi-rin, was dead.

But the Mad Demon lived on.

Now, with Mo Yong-jin’s body, he dreamed of new madness.