Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Hoo…This should be enough for people to get comfortable. 

While the Sage of Bright Rock went outside to meet with Do Jin-myung, Jegal Sung brought Woon-seong back inside the shack. 

He had restored it to its original appearance to the best of his abilities. 

“If you don’t mind, may I ask your name?”

Woon-seong opened his eyes from where he had been sitting and glanced at Jegal Sung, as if asking ‘why do you need to know my name?’

Jegal Sung nodded to himself, not making any excuse. “It’s just a little inconvenient to call you ‘Cult Leader’ all the time… Only if I know your last name would I be able to address you properly.”

“Don’t you know which last name the leader of the Demonic Cult uses?”

Unless it was a special case, most Heavenly Demons all had the same last name. 

But Jegal Sung wasn’t playing around. He had some information networks that extended to inside the Demonic Cult.

“Well I do, but your last name isn’t ‘Chun’, is it?”

As a result, Jegal Sung knew that the current Cult Leader was not of the Chun bloodline. 

But he didn’t know the man’s name. 

So he asked. 

Woon-seong smiled slightly. “Hyuk Woon-seong.”

“Hyuk Woon-seong?”

Jegal Sung felt like he had heard that name before. 

Woon-seong blankly stared at the man, not revealing anything. 

Wasn’t that Nok Yu-on’s apprentice’s name?

“Is that your real name?”

“…”

Woon-seong did not respond. 

Seeing the lack of response, Jegal Sung had no choice but to judge for himself. 

He concluded that it was an alias. 

I am certain Nok Yu-on’s apprentice died on that day. I buried their bodies with my own hands.

He probably learned the name ‘Hyuk Woon-seong’ when he heard about the Spear Master Sect’s fate. 

Did he choose that name as his alias because he wanted to let others know that he is out for revenge?

“I have one more thing I want to ask you…”

“…”

“Even though you are originally from the Spear Master Sect, was this relationship so deep that the Leader of the Demonic Cult needed to move?”

During the rebuilding of the shack, Jegal Sung had spoken with the young man a few times. Even before that, the Cult of the Inverted Sky had come up a few times in conversation. 

Every time it was mentioned, Jegal Sung could feel a simmering anger from Woon-seong. 

The young man looked calm on the outside, but his hatred burned like an active volcano. 

This type of silent anger was the scariest kind, just as those who were able to suppress such anger were the most dangerous. 

Silent, righteous anger. 

It was too much anger for a Cult Leader to have. 

Woon-seong did not answer the question for a long time. He just silently sat there. 

When he heard no response, Jegal Sung began to shuffle away. Somehow, the atmosphere had become unbearably heavy once more. He decided he should brew some tea.

At that moment, Woon-seong’s voice drifted over: 

“It wasn’t only the Spear Master Sect who got attacked by them.”

Having just reached for the tea leaves, Jegal Sung turned his head.

Woon-seong sat there with his eyes closed. 

It was like the words just now had been a hallucination. 

But Jegal Sung had heard them clearly. 

And Woon-seong had definitely said them. 

Jegal Sung calmly turned around and continued to brew tea. Does he mean someone important in the Demonic Cult got attacked by the Inverted Sky…

Soon, hot tea was poured into a cup. 

Glug, glug—

Woon-seong opened his eyes when he felt someone approaching the building. 

Naturally, it was the Sage of the Bright Rock and Do Jin-myung. 

Do Jin-myung entered the garden area through the same path Woon-seong had and soon saw the garden where all kinds of flowers were growing. 

“Did you get attacked?”

That was the first thing Do Jin-myung asked when he saw the garden. 

Or more correctly, what was left of the garden. 

Bright Rock smiled slightly, which looked more like a grimace. 

He remembered who had made the garden look like this. 

The building had barely been restored, but the garden would take a long time to fully heal. 

“The one who called you here…”

Just as Bright Rock wanted to explain what had happened to Do Jin-myung, someone walked out of the wood shack. 

“You arrived.”

It was Woon-seong. 

Next to him was Jegal Sung. 

Woon-seong’s appearance surprised Do Jin-myung. 

Apparently it wasn’t a trap. I wasn’t sure, but it was true that the Leader of the Demonic Cult is here. 

Regaining his calm, Do Jin-myung bowed to Woon-seong. “Good to see you, Leader of the Demonic Cult.”

He received a nod. 

Then Do Jin-myung turned to look at the other man, who was standing beside Woon-seong. 

Bright Rock kindly introduced the other,  “He is the Great Scholar Jegal.”

Do Jin-myung’s eyes trembled. “If he is the Venerable Dragon, the Great Scholar Jegal, he should look…”

The Venerable Dragon should be older than himself, but the man before him looked at least a decade younger… How was that possible?

Bright Rock had no choice but to explain again,  “He has succeeded in Age Reversing Revival.”

“Age Reversing Revival!”

Once again, it took Do Jin-myung a while to regain his calm. 

But it was just for a while. 

The reason they had gathered was not just to admire the Venerable Dragon’s new, younger look. 

Jegal Sung placed a cup of tea in front of everyone. 

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“Actually, in the beginning, I was suspicious. I thought I might end up being buried here.”

Do Jin-myung glanced at the Sage of Bright Rock. 

Jegal Sung smiled bitterly, understanding the look. “He is a spy we planted inside of the Martial Alliance.”

“What do you mean by ‘we’?”

Use of ‘we’ meant a group. 

So the Sage of the Bright Rock truly had been part of an underground group. 

However, was there a group capable of controlling the head of the Mount Hua Sect? 

That was the head of the Mount Hua Sect they were talking about!

However, Do Jin-myung could tell that Jegal Sung was not lying. 

“A long time ago, to investigate the dark atmosphere in the Martial Alliance, seven chivalrous fighters gathered and formed a sect. That was about 400 years ago. That sect was shaped and led by Gija [1], and still lives on.”

“So you are saying that Bright Rock is a member of that sect?”

Jegal Sung nodded. “That sect is called the Justice Blood Sect. And I am its leader.”

Justice Blood.

Do Jin-myung closed his eyes as he thought of the meaning behind those words. 

Obviously it meant blood that was shed during an act of justice or noble sacrifice. 

I thought the Orthodox was disorganized, since they got attacked by the Cult of the Inverted Sky, but I guess it’s true that old trees have deep roots. 

We might be able to create a diversion for the rotten martials, even without getting assistance from the Cult of the Heavenly Demon —

Jegal Sung continued to talk, breaking Doo Jin-myung’s thought process. 

“Of course, since this sect works secretly, we are lacking in number. In other words, we don’t have enough power.”

We will need the power of the Demonic Cult. 

Do Jin-myung revised his thoughts in a split second. 

I should be satisfied that at least the Orthodox martials’ roots didn’t get infected.

“By the way, what made the Leader of the Demonic Cult come here? I don’t think the Cult Leader is a member of the Justice Blood Sect…”

“Since we have the same purpose, we made a deal.”

“You have the same purpose?”

Woon-seong nodded. “Vengeance against the Cult of the Inverted Sky. Isn’t that what you and King Jinseong want too?”

Do Jin-myung smiled. Indeed, if they could attract the power of the Demonic Cult, it would help suppress the Cult of the Inverted Sky. “Yes. We also have the same thoughts.”

“I have something to tell you about that.”

As Do Jin-myung smiled amicably, the Sage of Bright Rock snuck into the conversation. 

“It is true that the Martial Alliance’s power and spirit has been weakened, but that is a problem only for the Orthodox side. But you are trying to bring the Cult of the Heavenly Demon in to solve this… That is just like bringing in a tiger to hunt a wolf. And also, I don’t think the Demonic Cult will just help King Jinseong, so what is the price that King Jinseong would need to pay the Demonic Cult?”

It seemed like Bright Rock was trying to get at something. 

However, the answer came from Woon-seong, not Do Jin-myung. 

“They will recognize the Demonic Cult as the state religion and I suggested that since I’m the Leader, they should make me the King’s teacher.”

“Huh!” Bright Rock made a surprised sound, then shook his head. “That can’t be true. It will surely cause unrest should you summon the Cult of the Heavenly Demon into the mainlands.”

Woon-seong smiled. 

Soon the building was filled with the Heavenly Demon’s aura. 

A massive hurricane of energy rumbled into existence, swirling around the shack. 

“You sound ridiculous. Then do you think it’s possible to fight the Cult of the Inverted Sky, which has already sunk their fangs deep into the Orthodox side, but using only the Justice Blood Sect’s power?”

The energy was overwhelming.

However, Bright Rock spoke as though he had no intention of conceding. 

“Even though the Cult of the Inverted Sky holds much power over the Orthodox side, not all martial artists are on their side. I’m sure if we look for them, there will be enough sects who will support us. If we can consolidate their power, we can defend against the Cult of the Inverted Sky’s people.”

“That’s just an armchair theory [2]. Are you guys determined to go against the Emperor? And, are you sure everyone else is willing to do that?”

“Uhm.” 

Bright Rock staggered and Woon-seong’s energy slammed into him. 

“If that was possible, I’m sure the Emperor’s Sage of Earth and Sky wouldn’t have consulted me. Then I will ask you. What have you done before the Sage of Earth and Sky visited me? What have you done until I, the Leader of the Demonic Cult, contacted the Justice Blood Sect myself?”

“Ugh!”

Bright Rock frowned and retreated. 

However, he felt something cool and hard hit his back. 

It was the wall. 

He had been pushed all the way across the room, to the opposite wall. 

Can’t believe I got pushed this far by just his aura.

It was Jegal Sung that saved Bright Rock from anything else. 

In a solemn voice, the man said: “Bringing the Demonic Cult into the mainland’s is not just a dichotomous matter that can be divided in Orthodox and Demonic, or black and white. I understand that not all Demons are bad, but do you remember how I acted as soon as I heard who you were?”

Woon-seong nodded.

As soon as Jegal Sung had realized Woon-seong was the Heavenly Demon, the man had immediately launched an attack. 

“That’s because of the deep misunderstanding between the Orthodox and the Demonic Cult. That’s not something that can be resolved in such a short period of time. So if we can’t solve the issue, then when the Demonic Cult comes to Zhongyuan, it will cause a huge problem.”

Jegal Sung was not wrong. 

It was true that the grudge and misunderstanding between the Demonic Cult, who wished to take over Zhongyuan, and the Orthodox martials, who had settled in Zhongyuan, was very deep. 

It was not that Woon-seong had not realized this. 

He already had some solutions. 

“Then here’s the deal.”

[1] Gija was a semi-legendary Chinese sage said to have ruled Joseon in the 11-12th Century BCE. 

[2] An armchair theory is something based solely on the speaker’s own experience, introspection, and intuition (AKA it is entirely subjective and from only one point of view.)