Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

After Wooon-seong had cleared his mind, he secretly went out to search for the Senior Strategist. 

He visited suddenly very deep into the night, but the Strategist was still working. 

It was because his heart was filled with complicated emotions, so the man could not fall asleep. 

The Strategist saw Woon-seong and jumped up. 

“You could’ve just called me instead…” 

Woon-seong shook his head softly. 

The Strategist straightened up and picked up his tea set. In an instant, water was boiling. When he put the leaves in, a light aroma spread through the room. 

Along with the caffeine, the scent and repetitive actions were mind-cleansing. 

As the tea brewed, he placed a cup in front of Woon-seong. 

Afterward, he picked up his own and sat across from the youth. 

“What brings you here so late at night?” the Strategist finally asked, once half the kettle was finished. 

At his question, Woon-seong hesitated for a moment, like the question was difficult to answer. 

“What happens to the Cult if I leave?”

“If you leave…? That would cause a good number of problems, of course.”

Sang Gwan-chuk closed his eyes. 

It was a difficult situation to imagine. 

“I can take care of some internal affairs, but you are the one who makes the decisions. But there are still records of former Heavenly Demons secretly leaving the throne for a while. And naturally, we do have some preparation in case such things happen. The problem is the period… How long are you planning to leave?”

“Six months minimum, one year maximum.”

Six months to a year…

That was not a long time.

Time, however, was not always an absolute concept. 

Depending on the situation, like a Cult Leader leaving the throne, a year was long. 

“You’re planning to go to Zhongyuan.”

Sang Gwan-chuk guessed why Woon-seong was asking this question. There was a reason he was the senior strategist — it didn’t even take him a minute to draw upon this conclusion. Perhaps, as soon as he heard the length of time, this thought had immediately come to mind. 

“We did get the message from the Sage and King Jinseong, but I cannot fully trust them.”

“Are you planning to meet King Jinseong yourself?”

Woon-seong nodded. 

“I also want to see the state of affairs in Murim with my own eyes.”

Of course, that was only half the reason.

However, that was the only reason Woon-seong could give in the present situation. There was no way he could say that he wished to visit the Spear Master Sect’s safehouse. 

Hearing this reason, the Strategist looked a little doubtful. 

“If that is the case, you can order your people to do it instead. Do you really have to leave and do it yourself?”

Woon-seong laughed. 

“King Jinseong may not be part of Murim, but he survived when the Emperor purged his many brothers. And if the Sage was speaking the truth, it means he’s been fending for himself against someone who can even control the emperor. He’s no normal man. 

“…”

The Strategist understood what Woon-seong was trying to say. 

It was hard to fully understand the situation by using a middleman.

“The only sure way to check it is by seeing him with my own two eyes.”

The Strategist sighed. He could say whatever he wanted, but Woon-seong’s mind had obviously already been made. 

He could try to convince Woon-seong, but it seemed the new Heavenly Demon would be hard to persuade. 

A man of his own beliefs. A man who will steadfastly stride towards his own goals.

Those types of people were difficult to persuade, regardless of age or identity. 

The previous Cult Leader was like that.

It seemed the new Leader was like that, too. 

Sang Gwan-chuk sighed and smiled for some reason. 

Maybe it was because he could see the image of Chun Hwi in Woon-seong. 

Thus, he nodded. “I understand.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

Woon-seong nodded, standing up. 

Seeing that, it seemed like he would leave as soon as he finished preparing. 

“However!”

The Strategist suddenly shouted and stopped the Heavenly Demon from leaving.

Woon-seong turned and stared, a question in his eyes. 

The eyes of the Strategist were decisive as he spoke. 

“I would like you to give me about two weeks to prepare.”

Two weeks. 

Woon-seong was prepared to leave the next day, but two weeks was still alright with him. 

Still, Woon-seong had no idea why the Strategist had asked for two weeks.

However, that did not mean that Woon-seong spent the two weeks doing nothing. 

***

It was never easy to mix perfection with something imperfect.

But Woon-seong had caught the trail. 

Slowly, he walked down that path. 

“Whew.”

One wrong step and it will lead to qi deviation. 

I push a little too much, qi deviation. 

Walking on the edge of a knife was nothing compared to this. 

A thought swirled through Woon-seong’s mind, before a wave of martial arts knowledge swept it away. 

Woon-seong was sweating. 

As someone impermeable to heat and cold, Woon-seong was sweating.

That was evidence of how focused he was on his qi flow and meridians. 

In such a state, time was unfixed. 

For him, a fleeting moment felt like an hour.

Even with my depth of studies, I’m facing limits every moment. 

I have to weave the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, a martial art already at perfection, and push it even further. 

It’s not about trying to enter the realm of god…

Pushing the Divine Art further is only possible after becoming a deity myself!

But that’s why I also know that if I continue to walk on this path, I will one day transcend my mortal body and become a deity. 

Just like how my efforts with the Heavenward Soul Earthen Body showed its results…

“Whew.”

Woon-seong finally opened his eyes and took a deep breath in.

That’s enough for today.

A Dark Flower fell from the air, as if she had been waiting for Woon-seong to wake up from meditation. 

Obviously, the Flowers of the Dark Night had been protecting him from the ceiling beams. 

This wasn’t out of kindness, but because they were trained to do so.

But it was a separate thing to be thankful. 

“Thank you.”

Woon-seong took the towel and wiped off his sweat. 

Then, he entered the next room and stripped off his clothes, relaxing in the basin of water prepared for him. 

He thought about his achievements this time. 

It’s not bad. 

Woon-seong smiled. 

I’ve made progress with understanding the Rare World Chapter. 

And if it’s just mimicking the forms, I can perform it to some degree. 

The problem is how much of the actual skills I can recreate, since they’re hidden within the forms. 

And my real goal isn’t just the Rare World Chapter, but what’s beyond it. 

The Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon which is beyond the current Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon. 

The Art of the Spear Master Sect which is beyond the current Art of the Spear Master Sect. 

Woon-seong clenched his fists.

Then, he stretched and stepped out of the water. 

With a flick of his qi, the water was dried. 

A Woon-seong that had washed up dressed in the clean set of clothes prepared by the Flower of Dark Night soon walked through the palace and back into his room.

Entering his room, he was greeted by the sight of someone standing at his balcony. 

“Hey.”

The person opened with the same greeting as the first they had met. 

It was Chun A-young. 

She came to my place on such a night…

Woon-seong glanced out the window. Even the moon was buried in darkness. It was definitely too late to visit someone. 

He turned his head to look at her face. 

When she lost her father, she was unable to stop crying. 

Although she pretended to be strong, she was still someone’s daughter. A daughter who cherished her father. 

Thanks to that, her face had been red and blotchy from tears for a while. 

She seems fine now. It looks like time has helped. She doesn’t seem to have completely overcome her grief, but she seems to have dealt with it. 

“You seem to be better.”

What was happening tonight?

Instead of asking why she was paying him a visit, he made that comment. 

A-young nodded at his words. 

Looking him straight in the eyes, she suddenly spoke. 

“I heard that a messenger from King Jinseong has visited.”

“…”

It was not something to hide, but a rumor had started that a messenger of the Empire had made a commotion at the entrance to the Cult. It seemed that said rumor had reached A-young and the Divine Maiden’s Palace. 

But it was only the parties involved who knew what was going on. 

“There was a small commotion.”

Of course, the details of the conversation did not have to be told to A-young. 

Woon-seong did not wish to mention the death of Chun Hwi again, given that he was not sure of the facts himself. 

This was also in consideration of Chun A-young. 

“The news was related to Zhongyuan, wasn’t it?”

Woon-seong nodded, and A-young paused for a moment, then whispered, “Was it also related to my father?”

Her voice was bitter.

It was a woman’s intuition. Even if no one told her, she knew. 

Woon-seong hesitated to answer. 

Would silence be her answer? A-young lowered her head. “So there was a connection.”

It was pointless to lie. 

“Yes. It was.”

Saying that the news was related to Chun Hwi was no different from saying it was related to his death. 

Unlike a few days ago, A-young clenched her fist instead of bursting into tears. 

Barely holding back her tears, she stared at Woon-seong. 

“Hey… Did you know?”

“…?”

“In the history of the Cult, there were several Divine Maidens who fought on the frontlines during war.”

“…”

“Divine Maidens who were exceptionally skilled in martial arts. On top of that, they would cast spells with their divine powers. I don’t think you know, but there were Divine Maidens who made some significant contributions during war.”

Woon-seong listened to A-young quietly. He had a rough guess about what she wanted to say. 

“When it was decided that I was to become the Divine Maiden, I thought of that. If I can’t become the Heavenly Demon, I should become a Divine Maiden who can fight instead.”

She probably wants to become part of the vanguard, where she has the opportunity to personally avenge her father, Woon-seong sighed.

“It used to be a mere idea, but I guess now I have a real reason to do it.”

A-young’s tone suddenly turned serious. 

“On that note, I have a favor to ask.”

Woon-seong nodded slowly, “I understand. We don’t have clear plans yet, but if the man who killed Master is in Zhongyuan… And if we have to go to war because of that, I will let you—”

“Teach me martial arts.”

That was Chun A-young’s request. 

Woon-seong found it completely unpredicted.