Chapter 165
“No... what in the world is this...?”
Gwak Heo-won, the Second Young Master of the Demonic Heavenly Cult.
He was the one who survived until the very end of the horrific power struggle, where brothers killed brothers to become the Young Cult Master, and he just returned to the Demonic Heavenly Cult's Main Headquarters.
He and his followers had been out for several days, trying to clear their heads, and were just returning.
His subordinates had suggested it first, as he was growing increasingly anxious, seeing how his father, Cult Leader Gwak Cheon-hu, seemed to be favoring his younger brother, Gwak Un-do.
But then,
*WHOOSH!*
On their way back, they suddenly saw a massive golden light soaring towards the sky.
Overwhelmed with shock, he had rushed back.
However, the moment he arrived at the Demonic Heavenly Cult, his jaw dropped.
This was not the Demonic Heavenly Cult Main Headquarters he knew.
The Main Headquarters, utterly devastated as if struck by a massive natural disaster, lay in ruins. Thousands of Demonic Cultists were sprawled on the ground, and more than half of the Main Headquarters was destroyed.
What in the world had happened?
He was utterly bewildered.
Could the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Alliance have united and launched an attack?
But all the fallen figures were Warriors of the Demonic Heavenly Cult, without exception.
He was simply speechless at a sight he had never even imagined.
Am I dreaming right now?
Something was terribly wrong.
“Ah, let’s hurry to where Father is!”
Gwak Heo-won quickly headed towards the Heavenly Demon Palace.
“Father!”
But the Heavenly Demon Palace was empty.
The inexplicable silence sent shivers down Gwak Heo-won’s spine.
And then,
“Ugh...”
Gwak Heo-won spotted a Warrior who had been guarding the Heavenly Demon Palace, trembling and hiding in a corner.
“What in the world happened while I was gone! Speak properly!”
But the Warrior still looked dazed, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
Gwak Heo-won mercilessly slapped the Warrior’s cheek.
The impact jolted the Warrior back to his senses.
Gwak Heo-won repeated his earlier question.
At that, the Warrior replied, trembling all over,
“I-I don’t know anything.”
“It was just after the Cult Leader and the Ten Great Demon Stars headed towards Fengshan Palace... a-a natural disaster seemed to strike. The ground shook incessantly. Then the emergency bell rang, and when I went out to see what happened... Ugh, *Ugh, AAAAAH!*”
The man screamed madly, trembling as if his mind had snapped.
“Hmph...”
The Warriors guarding the Heavenly Demon Palace were among the Demonic Heavenly Cult’s most mentally resilient and martially skilled individuals.
Yet, how could they have ended up in such a state?
*Slice.*
Gwak Heo-won cut down the mad Warrior, who wouldn't stop screaming, and turned his steps.
Towards Fengshan Palace.
His father had clearly gone there. And he had taken all the remaining Ten Great Demon Stars of the cult with him.
So, he would surely find something out there.
He launched himself towards Fengshan Palace.
All his subordinates followed him.
The Heavenly Road, which had not held light for a long time, shone dazzlingly, and a brilliant golden light soared into the sky.
That light soon became a colossal pillar of light, visible to the entire Murim.
Everyone who saw that pillar of light was captivated, losing themselves in its incredibly beautiful and fantastical appearance.
How much time had passed like that?
The light slowly faded, and the pillar of light disappeared.
However,
*Flicker.*
Even so, a dazzling golden light still shimmered beautifully on the Heavenly Road.
And below it, a peerlessly handsome man stood there, an utterly bewildered expression on his face.
“So, instead of just bowing, please properly explain why you are doing this.”
The peerlessly handsome man was Yeo Un-hwi.
He couldn’t hide his bewilderment, feeling as if he had never been this flustered before.
At first, he naturally suspected that the women before him were up to some trick.
But that thought quickly faded.
For the women were too serious and solemn to harbor such suspicions.
They were like people facing the most important moment of their lives.
Their demeanor was certainly not due to being overwhelmed by Yeo Un-hwi’s power.
There was clearly something else.
But even so, calling him the Heavenly Demon?
Yeo Un-hwi needed an explanation, no matter what it was.
Divine Maiden Wi Seollin carefully rose and opened her mouth.
Then she pointed at something with her finger.
“Do you see the lamp on that ceiling?”
“Hmm?”
Only then did Yeo Un-hwi raise his head and look at the Heavenly Road.
*Meanwhile, Wi Seollin continued her story.*
“That is a lamp called the Heavenly Road.”
“The Heavenly Road?”
“Yes. It is a Divine Object of the Demonic Heavenly Cult, known to light up again when a new Heavenly Demon appears.”
And that Heavenly Road had reacted to none other than Yeo Un-hwi’s power, a sight that Wi Seollin and all the Shamanesses had clearly witnessed with their own eyes.
It was certainly a truly bewildering event for them as well.
Was the individual who had suddenly stormed the Demonic Heavenly Cult, cutting down the Cult Leader and all the Ten Great Demon Stars, alone, the Heavenly Demon?
But to them, nothing was more important than the fact that the one who lit the Heavenly Road was the Heavenly Demon.
Ironically, the moment that the deceased Heaven-Shattering Demonic Emperor Gwak Cheon-hu had so desperately desired had come to Yeo Un-hwi.
*Ha, haha...*
Yeo Un-hwi was not easily surprised, but even he found the current situation utterly baffling.
So much so that a wry laugh escaped him involuntarily.
The idea of him being the Heavenly Demon was absurd.
If it were a Warrior of the Demonic Heavenly Cult—no, if it were any ordinary person—one might jump for joy, but Yeo Un-hwi was not like that.
He wasn't pleased at all, one might say.
“Even if that’s the case, I have no interest in being the Heavenly Demon. And I certainly have no intention of becoming one.”
Yeo Un-hwi stated firmly.
“Moreover, I am someone who despises Demonic Force and Evil. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done what I did, would I?”
Honestly, if the Shamanesses before him had been sword-wielding Warriors, he would have already cut them down.
But when he first entered this place, they seemed to be threatened by the Cult Leader’s faction, so he left them alone, not knowing their story.
They didn’t seem particularly dangerous, and even if they were, Yeo Un-hwi wasn’t someone who would be caught off guard.
Yet, without giving him a chance to react, they bowed and called him the Heavenly Demon... what a situation.
Just then,
“Then what do you intend to do now?”
Wi Seollin spoke to Yeo Un-hwi.
“Hmm? What do I intend to do?”
“Do you perhaps think that everything is over now that the Cult Leader and the Ten Great Demon Stars are gone?”
Her eyes gleamed as she continued.
She didn’t know why Yeo Un-hwi had stormed the Demonic Heavenly Cult and cut down the Cult Leader and the Ten Great Demon Stars.
However, Yeo Un-hwi seemed unable to tolerate a Demonic Heavenly Cult ruled by someone like Gwak Cheon-hu.
In that case, what she had to say was clear.
“There will certainly be a huge blow, but that doesn’t mean the Demonic Heavenly Cult will disappear. No, in fact, the Demonic Heavenly Cult is harder to eradicate than any other sect or clan.”
“Why?”
Yeo Un-hwi’s tone changed.
“Because the Demonic Heavenly Cult has been deeply rooted in these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains for far too long, the number of people connected to our cult is not just one or two. It’s easily hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions. No, it might even be more than that.”
“Hmm.”
“To completely wipe out the Demonic Heavenly Cult from this land, you would have to kill and keep killing everyone living in these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. Would you cut down the heads of so many people?”
No, that was impossible.
Not all of them knew Martial Arts, nor were they all enemies.
Many of them were probably born and lived in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and the Demonic Heavenly Cult without ever wanting to.
Such people bore no fault.
Wi Seollin’s story continued.
“Not everyone who relies on the Demonic Heavenly Cult or is connected to it is evil. And things can change depending on who is in charge.”
Of course, the Demonic Heavenly Cult of the current era was, in itself, sufficiently judged as Evil.
*Above all, the atrocities of the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Emperor, the Cult Leader, and the Ten Great Demon Stars were unimaginable.*
But if someone different ruled them, wouldn’t the outcome be different?
Therefore...
“If you leave now, the Demonic Heavenly Cult will sprout again after a long time. And it will be unknown whether it will be black or white. No, it might even threaten the world with an evil greater than before. But...”
Wi Seollin smiled faintly.
“If you become the Heavenly Demon, you can control all of those things as you wish.”
Yeo Un-hwi’s eyes widened slightly.
Control, and the Demonic Heavenly Cult at that?
“Naturally, as the era of the Heavenly Demon has arrived, everyone will follow the Heavenly Demon Lord’s will. The Demonic Heavenly Cult belongs to the Heavenly Demon. That is our cult’s most important Iron Rule.”
“Even if I order them to cease unnecessary slaughter and Seal the Gates immediately?”
Wi Seollin smiled faintly at Yeo Un-hwi’s words.
“If that is the Heavenly Demon’s will, they will gladly do so. No one in this Demonic Heavenly Cult will defy the Heavenly Demon’s will. And the Heavenly Demon, for those who do, can simply punish them.”
It was certainly not a bad proposition.
But for some reason, there was one more thing that bothered him.
“Nor is the Heavenly Demon given a specific mission that must be accomplished.”
As if reading Yeo Un-hwi’s mind, Wi Seollin added.
“Even if you desire a peaceful world, not one of Murim conquest or Demonic Force dominance?”
“They will simply follow the Heavenly Demon’s will.”
Wi Seollin nodded at Yeo Un-hwi’s words.
“However, one thing is certain: the moment you let go of this, the Demonic Heavenly Cult might sprout as a new Evil.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
“Not at all. I am merely assisting the Heavenly Demon Lord.”
Wi Seollin respectfully bowed her head.
In truth, this moment was overwhelmingly emotional for her.
To meet a new Heavenly Demon.
Her mission had just been fulfilled.
The sacred mission was to meet the Heavenly Demon in her generation.
To some, it might seem like blind faith, but to her, it was the very reason for her existence.
So now, all that remained was to ensure the Heavenly Demon’s will was fully realized on this land.
“Then, regarding my identity...”
“Officially, the birth of the Heavenly Demon cannot be hidden, but your identity will not be revealed. I will ensure that. However, there will be rare occasions when you will need to step forward. I only ask for your help then.”
“Haha...”
She was truly a sharp woman.
And it was only natural, as she had lived solely for such a moment.
Yeo Un-hwi’s mind became complicated.
He had certainly never imagined such a situation.
But it seemed the answer had already presented itself.
He didn’t know how a Successor of the Martial God like himself had come to be recognized as the Heavenly Demon, but the part about controlling Evil quite appealed to him.
The enemies he would have to face in the future were not just one or two.
No matter how strong he was, he only had one body.
The more pieces he could move, the better.
Though he never expected those pieces to be the Demonic Heavenly Cult itself.
Of course, it was already thoroughly shattered by his own hands.
“Alright. I will.”
“Yes?”
“I said I would become the Heavenly Demon.”
“Ah, ah...!”
At Yeo Un-hwi’s answer, the faces of Wi Seollin and the Shamanesses standing behind her brightened immensely.
“We greet the Heavenly Demon!”
All of them, with tears welling up in their eyes, bowed once more.
Honestly, Yeo Un-hwi still found this whole situation incredibly burdensome.
Calming her bursting heart, Wi Seollin then spoke.
“And.”
“Is there more I need to know?”
“Yes. Something has been secretly prepared for the Heavenly Demon who would one day arrive.”
She said something secretly prepared.
As Yeo Un-hwi looked puzzled, Wi Seollin smiled. Wi Seollin smiled, -hwi looked puzzled.
“You will surely like it. Please follow me.”