Chapter 515: The Reason They Were Summoned
Since that day, he had grown distant from the Cult Leader.
Having gone through that event together, it seemed they would see each other more often and become closer, but reality did not turn out that way.
Perhaps that was the reason.
Whenever they saw each other, the events of that day would resurface. Both he and Geom Woojin might have unconsciously wished to avoid that.
There was also a more practical reason.
Afterward, Geom Woojin became busy. He was officially named the successor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and was engrossed in learning the Nine Calamities Demon Art, making it difficult to meet him.
Was this truly how they would grow apart?
One day, when such thoughts had been circling in his mind, Geom Woojin came to visit the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
The moment he saw him, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could feel it. That Geom Woojin, too, felt the same as he did. That he had wanted to see him. For up until then, Geom Woojin’s face still revealed his emotions.
But the way they addressed each other had changed. Geom Woojin had become the Young Cult Leader, and he had risen to the position of Demon Supreme.
“Have you been well, Young Cult Leader?”
“Thanks to Demon Supreme’s concern, I have been well.”
They were no longer in a relationship where they could call each other brother. That incident had become a turning point in their bond.
Geom Woojin extended a box he had brought with him.
“What is this, Young Cult Leader?”
“A gift for the Demon Supreme.”
When he opened the box, inside was a single pill radiating a bluish glow. To his surprise, it was the Celestial Elixir.
“A gift I offer to the Demon Supreme.”
Having become the Demon Supreme at such a young age, an elixir like the Celestial Elixir was something he desperately needed.
“I am fine. Please, you should take it, Young Cult Leader.”
At that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon saw it—the look in Geom Woojin’s eyes as he gazed at him. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding, but Geom Woojin’s eyes seemed to be saying:
Brother, accept it.
As brothers. He remembered that gaze as the last of its kind.
And the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, in the end, did not consume the Celestial Elixir. It felt like if he took that elixir, everything that had happened with Geom Woojin on that day would come to an end—just like that.
That day he had so desperately wanted to forget. Yet, perhaps for him, it was also a day he never wished to forget. The day he helped the Young Master become the Young Cult Leader.
So he kept the Celestial Elixir in storage all that time and eventually gave it to Geom Mugeuk. As if by fate, it had found its way to Geom Mugeuk.
Later, when Geom Woojin roamed the Central Plains with the Fist Demon King battling, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wished he could be by their side as well.
He was human, after all—how could he not feel that way?
But he never expressed that feeling to Geom Woojin.
Still, his affection for the Cult Leader had never changed.
And now, in this very moment—
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon regretted it. This regret was something he felt and realized deeply as he grew closer to Geom Mugeuk.
He should have spoken with Geom Woojin.
Just as Geom Mugeuk had come to him and poured out every detail of idle talk and deeper thoughts alike, he too should have said everything to Geom Woojin.
They should have deliberately talked and talked about what happened that day. Rather than burying such a deep wound in their hearts, at the very least, the two of them should have shared it.
If Geom Woojin hadn’t thought to do so, then he, as the elder brother, should have led the way.
Had he done that, his relationship with Geom Woojin might have turned out differently. The wounds of the heart might have been lighter as well.
Now, back in the present, the two stood facing each other—Geom Woojin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, gazing into each other’s eyes.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon resolved in that moment that he must tell Geom Woojin about the regret he had just recalled. He was determined never to let an unspoken regret remain again.
“Are you alright?”
“My apologies, Cult Leader. I acted on my own without sending word in advance.”
“This wasn’t an official situation, was it? I was merely passing by as well.”
That too was true. He had turned the carriage around while returning to the Main Division.
“I didn’t expect Master to still be alive.”
“We didn’t see a corpse that day, after all.”
Gyo Cheon had fallen off the Wanjang Cliff after being pierced through the chest. They had tried to recover his body later, but it had been swept away by the rapids and could not be found. He had sustained fatal injuries, and they had assumed he had died—but here he was, alive.
As the two conversed, Gyo Cheon’s mood worsened again.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon had turned his back completely on him, speaking only to Geom Woojin. It made him feel ignored.
He had been displeased ever since reuniting with his disciple, but now, even to the end, they were scraping at his nerves. That guy had always been like that—but the one who truly enraged him was Geom Woojin.
Hadn’t he seen him? Shouldn’t he have greeted him first? Rather than shouting at him, it felt far more insulting to see them talking like that amongst themselves, ignoring him.
In the end, he couldn’t hold back any longer and shouted.
“Geom Woojin!”
His voice echoed, sharp and resounding.
Only then did Geom Woojin’s gaze turn toward Gyo Cheon.
The moment their eyes met, Gyo Cheon was swept up in emotions far more intense than when he had seen the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
In the end, his death had been because of that Cult Leader.
Because he had chosen the Great Young Master and not him.
But soon, his fury shifted into delight.
“At last, we meet again!”
He had been waiting for this day. Now that it was actually happening, Gyo Cheon’s heart raced with excitement. He laughed, making strange noises to himself.
He looked utterly insane, but Geom Woojin merely wore a calm expression, showing no reaction at all.
Seeing such a response, Gyo Cheon laughed even louder.
At that moment, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon suddenly had a thought.
‘Because we never properly mourned that day, the three of us, still trapped in it, have now met again.’
Yes, that was right. He, the Cult Leader, and the master who was now laughing like a madman—none of them had truly grieved. Not for the death of the Great Young Master, nor for the fates that had collided so violently that day.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to his master.
“Now that the Cult Leader is here, please come down.”
It meant—don’t dare look down from above.
Naturally, a twitch ran across Gyo Cheon’s eyes. Cult Leader over Master? He couldn’t say such words. After all, he had proudly declared the expulsion himself.
Then Geom Woojin spoke.
“It’s fine.”
Not because it was someone he intended to kill anyway. That wasn’t the reason. The reason Geom Woojin was fine was something else entirely.
“This journey comes from the Throne. There’s no need to be bound by titles.”
In the past, he might have wondered what in the world that meant. But now, he understood instantly. It was something Geom Mugeuk must have said to the Cult Leader. It truly sounded like something Geom Mugeuk would say.
Geom Woojin looked once more at Gyo Cheon and spoke.
“So this is what it feels like to be looked down at.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon laughed at Geom Woojin’s words. He never thought he’d hear such a joke from the Cult Leader in his entire life.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked Gyo Cheon,
“Weren’t you planning to involve the Cult Leader in your scheme as well? Now then, why don’t you show us what you’ve prepared?”
Gyo Cheon sneered with mockery.
“Just a while ago, you were hiding like a coward behind that pitiful sword, unable even to lift your head. And now you’re standing so proudly.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon accepted the provocation with a smile.
“Because the only one the Demon Supremes can rely on has arrived.”
A faint smile also touched the corner of Geom Woojin’s lips.
The atmosphere had become more relaxed with the appearance of the Cult Leader, but inwardly, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not loosen his guard. There had to be a hidden move left in his master.
Even so, he did not send a warning transmission to the Cult Leader.
The Cult Leader wasn’t a perfect man. He, too, could make mistakes and misjudgments. That’s why the Chief Strategist and Demon Supremes existed—to support him.
However, there were moments when the Cult Leader became perfect. In such times, there was no need to listen to anyone. Because the Cult Leader knew best.
That moment was the instant between killing and being killed.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon believed that on the battlefield, the Cult Leader became perfect.
And the place they now stood—was a battlefield.
Gyo Cheon had failed to grasp Geom Woojin’s level of power. Normally, he should have felt that overwhelming pressure, like he once had with the previous Cult Leader. But he couldn’t read Geom Woojin’s qi clearly. That meant only one thing.
‘He’s stronger than I expected.’
He had conducted extensive research on the Cult Leader and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon—especially pouring time and money into determining their martial prowess.
And yet, seeing them in person, they exceeded his data. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was stronger than he had anticipated. And so was Geom Woojin.
‘Why has everyone become so strong?’
He knew the Young Cult Leader had brought new winds into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, but he couldn’t believe that alone had made them this powerful.
At last, Geom Woojin spoke his first words to Gyo Cheon.
“Will you step forward yourself?”
No greetings, no small talk—nothing else.
Gyo Cheon’s expression hardened immediately. The first thing said to him was merely to ask whether he would fight?
“You’re looking down on me.”
Gyo Cheon revealed his displeasure, but Geom Woojin said nothing more.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon understood the Cult Leader’s heart.
In the past, Gyo Cheon had helped the Great Young Master in an attempt to kill Geom Woojin. And now, he had caused the destruction of a family, dragging the name of the main sect through the mud.
The Cult Leader must have been extremely angry. The only reason he hadn’t killed him on the spot—knowing his personality—was probably because of him. Because Gyo Cheon had been his master. He was allowing him time to resolve any lingering resentment and attachment.
“You’re still arrogant, whether in youth or now.”
Once again, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon could see that his master’s memory was distorted.
The gaze the Cult Leader once had when looking at him in the past, and the gaze now—those were far too different. Time had devoured his master.
“Fine then, have it your way.”
Gyo Cheon clapped his palm.
With that, a door opened, and an old man entered. He was clearly aged, yet his frame was sturdy and his posture upright. A well-toned, muscular body. If one only saw his physique without the face, it would be easy to mistake him for someone in their twenties or thirties.
Geom Woojin and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon did not recognize him—understandably so.
Black Emperor.
It made sense. He wasn’t just a former master—he was a grandmaster of a generation before that. Known throughout the murim for his ruthless nature and superb martial prowess, he had once been infamous for his name alone. At his peak, people had called him the greatest martial artist of the unorthodox sects.
Despite countless massacres that put him on the murim's list of enemies, no one had been able to kill him in the end.
He had long since passed the age of one hundred, and everyone naturally believed he had died. But today, he appeared once more.
From the same door, another person stepped out.
A young woman with heavy makeup. Her red lips were alluring enough to tempt anyone.
Qilian Demonic Enchantress.
Despite her youthful appearance, she too was a grandmaster of the same generation as Black Emperor.
If she were to be described in a single phrase:
The queen of all enchantresses.
Over the span of more than a hundred years, she had absorbed the internal energy of countless men. By now, she had surpassed the level of mere enchantress—she had become a monster.
What set her apart from other enchantresses was her purpose in absorbing energy and internal strength. She didn’t do it merely to preserve her youth. She did it to become stronger. And the result of that was now standing side by side with Black Emperor.
Even Black Emperor wouldn’t dare call her a mere enchantress carelessly. Her martial prowess was that formidable.
Gyo Cheon spoke with pride.
“These are people who are even my seniors.”
The two grandmasters, despite knowing full well that the opponent was the Demonic Cult Leader, showed no fear at all. Of course, that didn’t mean they were careless. With deep and cautious gazes, they stared directly at Geom Woojin.
They knew very well the weight the name Heavenly Demon carried in the murim.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked over at Geom Woojin. Geom Woojin was observing the two without a single change in expression, and his face gave away nothing about what he was thinking.
‘He’ll probably tell both of them to come at him, won’t he?’
Knowing the Cult Leader’s personality, that seemed certain.
And though the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s thought was close to the truth, it wasn’t exactly correct.
Geom Woojin raised his hand toward one side.
At first, it seemed no energy had been released.
Then suddenly, a sound came from the wall—one none of them had heard before.
Puuuuung!
Soon after, the wall that had contained the doorway through which the two had entered began to collapse—turning entirely into dust.
It didn’t shatter and scatter into fragments. Astonishingly, the wall crumbled in place, completely disintegrating into powder.
As the dust cloud billowed up, the space behind the wall was revealed.
There were people waiting there—as though calmly sitting in position, awaiting their turn. It was a scene as bizarre as it was strikingly fresh.
From within the dust, terrifying eyes gleamed. One could sense it from just that gaze alone—the presence they exuded was no less overwhelming than that of Black Emperor and Qilian Demonic Enchantress who had appeared earlier.
Even from the first figure who revealed himself, this much was clear.
Mad Thousand Slaughterer.
The mad martial artist said to have killed a thousand masters. The god of slaughter. The previous generation’s insane butcher—Mad Thousand Slaughterer.
Mad Thousand Slaughterer looked in their direction, radiating a chilling killing intent.
And he wasn’t alone. The gleaming eyes shining behind him were from individuals who lost nothing in comparison to this madman. Their number easily reached over ten. Some were familiar faces, others were unknown.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could tell—these were the fruits of his master’s decades-long obsession with revenge.
The pressure they exuded filled the entire chamber. Former-generation and pre-former-generation masters.
Gyo Cheon stared at Geom Woojin with an expression that screamed, What kind of madness is this? Even just the two that appeared were too much—one would wish at least one of them would go back.
And yet, Geom Woojin had ‘summoned’ them all to the battlefield.
He had no doubt sensed their qi from behind the door. The reason he brought down the wall was clear.
Demonic energy began to rise from Geom Woojin’s body, flickering like flames around him.
“All of you—come at me at once.”