Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

“I feel languid.”

It was a powerful voice.

There was a whirlwind of emotions and tones. 

It was a thin voice, but cloying and disgusting to listen to. 

It was a lamentation that the situation was boring. 

The one who said such as the one who sat upon the throne, somewhere deep inside the Imperial Court.

Sitting on the throne as the highest reigning person in the world; the man muttered as if the world was boring. 

Even with his moody atmosphere, the scene surrounding him was anything but normal. 

Hell. 

What would hell on earth look like? 

Would it look like this if an artist used a hatchet and painted with blood?

Around the throne was a pile of dead bodies. 

Those were the corpses of the previously alive court officials. 

The corpses of those who lived and preached the majesty of the emperor. 

They had all died miserably with their throats slashed. 

The blade that cut their throats was lying to the side, covered in blood. 

As if the horrible sight before him did not exist, the emperor muttered once more,  “I’m bored. Really bored.”

That was not the emperor. 

No, that could not be the emperor. 

No matter how ruthless a tyrant was, he would not slaughter the palace officials like this. 

A ruler could not run the country alone so officials had to be kept alive, even if just barely. 

So this could not have been the emperor. 

That man was just something wearing the skin of the emperor. Something that had forcibly stolen the emperor’s body. 

Whatever that thing was, it moved it’s hand with a straight expression. 

Several of the severed heads flew into the air. 

Drip—

Blood still spilled from where the heads had been cut. 

Seeing the gruesome sight, the ‘emperor’ giggled like a happy child. 

Puff—

With a single squeeze of his fist, the heads of the court officials floating into the air burst. 

Flesh, blood, and bones splattered in all directions. 

The ‘emperor’ raised his head, letting the blood splatter onto his face. Licking his lips, he continued to chuckle. 

It was a frightening sight. 

But there were those who saw it and felt no emotion at all, like the ones who had placed that thing in the skin of the emperor. 

“I know you are there, so come out, Grand Chancellor.”

At his call, a man slowly walked out from behind the pillars. 

“Or should I call you Heop Hon-su?”

“Please call me by the name of my position. When else could I enjoy such a high position like the Grand Chancellor, if not now.”

At Help Hon-su’s words, the thing inside the emperor’s body giggled. 

At some point, it stopped laughing and said, “I feel too languid. Do I still have to wait?”

The ‘emperor’ looked like a child begging an adult for a cookie. 

The Grand Chancellor responded as if used to such questions. “You just need to wait a little more.”

“How long do I have to wait?”

“Not much. Do you want me to bring some more people to kill while you are waiting?”

The chancellor looked at the dead bodies of the officials lying around. 

The ‘emperor’ looked at the bodies too, the bodies with their heads blown off. 

“I got sick of it.”

“Then I will bring some girls that you may enjoy.”

The ‘emperor’ waved his hand dismissively, not forgetting to shake his head too. “Got sick of that too. I just want to go out and kill everyone. But, since the Grand Chancellor told me to wait some more, I should wait, right?”

“You will be able to move soon.”

The thing nodded. “Yeah, if the Grand Chancellor says so, I should wait. By the way, about martial body arts?”

“That also won’t take long. Recently, a god of martial arts has been created. It’s being tested for stability and power right now.”

“Tested…”

“I sent it to the Nanchang area to slaughter the nearby sects.”

Liking the word choice, the thing continued to laugh. “Slaughter, slaughter…! It’s a nice word. I like the sound of it.”

“Wait a minute, isn’t Nanchang where King Jinseong, the little boy, is at?”

This thing occupied the body of the emperor, the brother of King Jinseong. Whenever King Jinseong was mentioned, the owner of the body, who had been relegated to a corner of the mind, cried out, “Don’t touch my brother! Please leave him alone!”

But whenever the real emperor tried to rebel, the thing would press down on him. “It’s you, right? Just shut up and stay there.”

The chancellor asked about King Jinseong: “What should I do?”

“Hm, I kept him alive since he’s interesting, but what should I do…”

The ‘emperor’ licked his lips, as if he had discovered something fun. 

“Do you want me to keep him alive?”

The thing closed his eyes. After opening them, it said,  “Just leave it. If he dies, he dies. If he lives, that’s his fate.”

When it finished, the thing continued to laugh and chortle. 

The chancellor bowed politely. “So be it.”

“More importantly, are you planning to make a godly martial poison when your martial body arts plan is completed?”

“Yes. If I can make a great martial body art, it might be able to become the master’s new body.”

The thing contained in the emperor’s body smiled with satisfaction. “Take good care of my new body.”

“Yes, Master.”

That was a conversation that took place at the heart of the Imperial Palace while the Calling Sword Sect was being burnt to the ground. 

***

Even as the group approached, the fire continued to burn fiercely. 

Licks of flame covered the building, like a greedy snake swallowing a frog. 

The buildings slowly collapsed as the wood panels burned under the fire. 

Crack—

Another pillar collapsed into rubble. 

“Huh.”

The group rushed through the flames. 

Why was there nothing but flames?

They had ditched the wagon and run towards the Calling Sword Sect, but by the time they arrived, the sect had already been consumed by fire. 

“That’s not good.”

“We should save the people who are still alive.”

Jegal Sung nodded. “Please help them.”

Woon-seong reached out instead of answering. 

Fwoom—

A fierce gust of energy blasted through the flames, opening a clear road forward.

Woon-seong was not heartless enough to watch innocent people die before his eyes. 

He may deny it, but the teachings of Nok You-on were carried deep within his heart. 

Of course, had the Calling Sword Sect been one of his enemies, he wouldn’t have bothered helping. 

As he dug through the fire and went inside, even more miserable sights greeted him. 

He had thought that an accident had happened, causing a massive fire, but that was evidently not the cause. 

Corpses lined the walls, severed limbs littered the floor. 

A decapitated head, a split chest, two torn off limbs. 

Bodies were scattered everywhere, burning in the flames. 

Hmm. It seems like they were attacked.

Judging from the cuts on the corpses, whoever did it was skilled. 

I should deal with the fire first.

Woon-seong moved his hands and the fire died down. 

With each movement of his hand, a powerful gust of energy blasted out. These violent gusts stirred the flames, like snuffing out a candle. 

Of course, a stronger gust was needed to extinguish the flames which swallowed the main building.

Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon – Heavenly Demon’s Divine Palm.

Following Woon-seong’s move, the flame slowly subsided. 

Do Jin-myung, Jegal Sung, and Bright Rock rushed to find survivors who may have been trapped in the flames. 

And then…

“Waaaa! Waaaa!”

Do Jin-myung found a crying little girl amongst the rubble. 

The little girl wept, not caring about her surroundings. She was completely terrified, trembling like a leaf. 

Do Jin-myung sighed heavily. “The daughter of the Calling Sword Sect’s leader… I think she is the only one who survived.”

The group looked around. 

“It seems like there was an attack.”

“Amitabha… Perhaps they got attacked by the unorthodox side of the Black Sword Sect?”

Bright Rock saw the bodies and came to a conclusion, but Woon-seong responded.

“No.”

Everyone turned to look at Woon-seong. 

Until then, Woon-seong had been staring at the burning walls. 

Everyone else followed his gaze. 

On the wall was a single massive cut, spanning the entire length. 

A single cut. 

He uses a sword smoothly. It’s been cut so smoothly that even though the building was cut in two, it has yet to collapse.

I can tell how strong he is by the traces on the wall.

It seemed that the level was about the same as his own. 

Woon-seong chewed on his lips, deep in thought. 

It was at that moment that Bright Rock asked for a clarification. 

“What do you mean by that?”

Woon-seong turned away from the wall, pointing to the bodies. “The traces on the bodies were identical. In other words, they were attacked by the same sword. You can also tell that it was caused by the same martial arts. These traces point to a single person.”

Do Jin-myung stiffened. “Are you saying the Calling Sword Sect was attacked by just one person?”

Woon-seong nodded. 

With a look of disbelief, Do Jin-myung asked once again, “Cult Leader… Are you sure? Even though there weren’t that many people in the sect, the Sect Leader was someone who almost reached the Absolute Realm. I can’t believe someone swept this place alone. Did an Absolute-level master attack…”

Woon-seong shook his head. “No, it’s not Absolute-level.”

“If it’s not, then what would…”

Woon-seong’s expression shifted and his gaze returned to the wall. He spoke slowly and clearly, eyes not moving from the sword slash. 

“This person is in the realm of Semi-Divinity.”