“Is this true?”
It was early morning, and the Earth Demon’s face was red.
Of course, It was because he was listening to the report about the people who came with Seol-Hwi, so his ears were popping open.
“Yes, he is the one who is known as the best in the Ice Moon Divine Arts.”
“No way. Ack Bi. Who is the previous generations…”
Thirty-eighth in rank.
That, too, was his level before rising to the Supreme Demon level. After gaining enlightenment, he decided to step back, and later no one would see him in the sect.
The creator of the ice arts, with a combination of demonic arts and ice, and a warrior in recluse.
“Shouldn’t there be a report about Elder Cho Ah-ran coming too?”
“Yes.”
The Blood Demon who was said to be unmatched in skills, the absolute warrior who rose to top.
She was a person who was placed in the top 15 of the rankings after stepping into the Supreme Demon level, and she too announced she was stepping back and did not want to continue staying in the sect.
“Finally…”
The Earth Demon, who had been unable to listen until the end because of his excitement, cut him off midway and was taken aback when he saw the last person.
Seeing the report, it felt like there were a few people brought back. If so, then this next part would have to be the person Seol-Hwi said he would bring back a while ago.
“No…”
Seeing this, Chun Kwang, the one reading the report, smiled.
“Right. Seol-Hwi brought them.”
“Miss Cheon Miryo!”
The Earth Demon jumped up from his seat and looked thoroughly shocked.
It was already satisfactory with just the two aforementioned warriors, but to think he actually managed to bring back the person he promised to.
Cheon Miryo, the eighth disciple of Cheon Gi-ryeo, the one who created the White Light Body Demonic Martial Arts.
She was an absolute warrior with great renown and strength, being ranked in fifth place when it came to those in the current sect.
Furthermore, she was a warrior now in recluse after refusing the position of sub sect leader.
She was one who was above the stage of absolute, to the extent that rumors went around that she stepped back because she was starting to reach the Profound Demon level, and that would threaten the Sect Leader.
“Any possibility of a mistake in this?”
The Earth Demon had to be careful.
It was hard to believe that Cheon Miryo of all people would help him. This was extremely unexpected to him because it did not seem like she was one to come out of seclusion to come help him.
“It is said that Elder Guyang, who held the ceremony in the past, has confirmed this, so it has to be true.”
Chun Kwang mentioned Elder Guyang.
At 105 years old, there was no doubt about his words.
“Still, just to be sure…”
“You worry too much, actually, it is impossible for anyone to not recognize them at once, right?”
“Ah, right.”
Only then did the Earth Demon throw away his doubts. Would not the presence of Cheon Miryo, the most beautiful woman in the sect, catch the attention of everyone?
“Then, take me there.”
The Earth Demon hurriedly stood in front of the mirror to adjust his clothes. They were strong warriors, and one of them was Cheon Miryo, who was fifth in strength.
So he could not afford to slip up in front of them.
“Fourth Disciple, we returned from the last mission.”
When Seol-Hwi entered and bowed, the Earth Demon grabbed his hand.
“You did good. You really did an amazing job.”
His face looked so happy that the tears around the corners could be seen, and he showed his appreciation as he held one of Seol-Hwi’s hands with both of his.
And the Earth Demon turned his head as he looked to the others further back and bowed.
“I am the Earth Demon.”
“You look a lot better than I thought.”
Ack Bi, dressed as a middle-aged man, smiled brightly. He was a handsome man.
The Earth Demon looked stunned. It was because of the one who looked like a young girl.
“What are you so surprised about? Is this your first time seeing someone old look this young?”
At her scalding words, he spoke back politely.
“I apologize. I am lacking in experience, my reasoning wasn’t good.”
“Huh.”
Seeing that, Cho Ah-ran smiled and continued,
“To receive a formal apology and bow from the Fourth Disciple of… the sect leader surely has odd taste. Knowing that if he continues to take disciples like this, he will be off course.”
“…”
The Earth Demon could not respond. He knew it too. If he became a disciple of the Heavenly Demon, he would be involved in a power struggle.
Did he not come to the Demonic Sect knowing that?
“And…”
It was when the Earth Demon, who had been lost in thought, raised his head—
Behind the two of them, he could see a woman with her body turned to the side. At that time, as if waiting for her turn, she turned his way and smiled,
“I am Cheon Miryo.”
“Ah…”
The Earth Demon was speechless.
Some people said that seeing Cheon Miryo would make one speechless, but he never believed it. He had seen many beautiful people before, but none of them really caught his attention.
It was a little different now.
There was something more than just beauty to her. And this was what made him speechless.
“E-Earth Demon. I have heard a lot of great things about you.’
“I heard too. Dragged into this mean game by the Heavenly Demon… an unfortunate genius.”
“…”
The Earth Demon realized why he was so dumbfounded at her visage.
She was innocent and spoke no lies. She was a pure soul which would not yield to anyone.
Those who have mastered martial arts and those who risk their lives as warriors were bound to react as if they were attracted to such spirit.
“Let’s sit down and talk.”
It was when Ack Bi pointed to the chairs and said. a change happened for Seol-Hwi.
<You have gained 100 lives.>
Finally, his hard work was paying off and then it followed.
<You have succeeded in [Becoming a secret warrior of Earth Demon]> <Calculating current score.>
Stamina, internal energy, combat power, martial arts… tool box…
<Score reward: 22 lives will be given.>
The number of lives rose again. Seol-Hwi had never been so happy seeing so many lives.
For some reason though, he also felt an ominous feeling. But ignoring how he felt, the text in front of him continued automatically.
<After this, three combat methods will be presented. However, due to the level of difficulty, you may choose only one.> <Which one would you like to choose?> ▶Turn based ▷Simulation ▷AI
Damn it.
One obstacle showed itself.
The AI was the best option and the only thing that will truly help him in the future.
<You have chosen ‘AI.’> <Since Cheon Miryo joined, the power of the disciples of the Heavenly Demon will rise and cause more incidents. In addition, she is an existence who will end up changing the path of the future little by little.> <*Reason: With the Earth Demon having three warriors, the disciples of the Heavenly Demon who felt a sense of crisis will recruit more warriors.>
This.
Another reason.
Giving 100 lives was not just to give him more chances but also to make the situation more difficult as well.
Advice: If you do not find a satisfying life, try a different story than before. Example: Two lives presented by the First Disciple.
Ah!
This shocked Seol-Hwi.
The advice was different from the past. At this time however, he was told that the situation would be tougher.
But was this not like going under a different disciple though?
“What are you doing? Sit down.”
Someone gestured to Seol-Hwi who was standing.
It was Ack Bi. He was sitting on one side of the Earth Demon.
“You should listen too. You are my secret warrior.”
At the Earth Demon’s words, Seol-Hwi quietly walked over and then decided to think about how the situation would go from there.
Ack Bi and Cho Ah-ran wanted to hear about the current situation of the Earth Demon.
As Seol-Hwi’s master, they decided to stand on the side of the Earth Demon, so they had to know what the current situation was.
Knowing that, the Earth Demon confessed it all truthfully.
“Firstly… there is no person in the Crimson Hall and the other hall that I have a relationship with.”
There are nine halls and four pavilions.
Among them was the Crimsion Pavilion, which had five halls under it.
This meant that he had no people he could reach out to potentially help him.
“If there is no one in there… it means you have close to no influence.”
Ack Bi sorted out the situation.
There was the Silver Demon Pavilion and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion as well, but those two should be excluded. It was because they did not have any recluse warriors in there or anyone who would help the Fourth Disciple.
In particular, the Silver Demon Pavilion was known to support the third disciple entirely.
“Are there any people on the Hall Leader level who can help?”
Cho Ah-ran mentioned the halls.
“It is embarrassing… but no.”
“Sigh…”
Cho Ah-ran sighed at the answer.
This was an answer which was shocking for her.
“…Still, the five elders are helping me a lot.”
“They aren’t going to make a big deal of this.”
Cho Ah-ran cut it off. She was an elder in the past, so she knew this.
They did not participate in this struggle for power by risking their lives, but when the situation changed, they knew how the elders would act to preserve their place.
And that meant, it would not add much power.
In a way, the elders were bystanders.
“What about intelligence?”
“There is a temporary one with 30 people active.”
“And the main troops?”
“Hidden Truth Corps, around 300 of them.”
Ack Bi looked a bit interested at the mention of 300 and joined the conversation.
“That is…”
The Earth Demon took a break there and spoke honestly.
“Between first rate and master level. The captain is usually a step higher.”
“What? Not even super master level?”
Ack Bi frowned in disappointment.
Even at first glance, was it not a little better than not having any pavilion behind them?
Nevertheless, Cho Ah-ran’s questions continued.
“Who are the representatives?”
“There are the Seven Messengers, core warriors, all of them Peak Demons.”
“And the warriors who move in secret?”
“If you count Seol-Hwi with them, there are nine in all.”
“Hmm.”
Cho Ah-ran let out a sigh. Then, as if thinking about something, he tapped the table with his fingers and soon met the Earth Demon’s eyes.
“Fourth Disciple.”
“Yes, elder.”
“Do you know what to prioritize when executing a full frontal attack rather than a surprise attack?”
“Prioritize what affects the overall ability of the unit rather than the abilities of an individual.”
“Right, to put it in easy terms, it means that even with all your strength you will be swept away in an instant no matter which disciple sticks with you.”
“…”
The Earth Demon did not answer to it as this was the reality of his situation.
His cursed power could balance things out only for a moment. It was obvious that if a fight broke out, he would be swept out immediately.
“We are here, but our role is only to buy time for fights. First you need to recruit highly influential people.”
“But Elder. Those of such level do not take sides.”
The military hall—
The troops in it are those which move according to their own interests, and they are the true force of the sect. There was a reason for not standing on either side and staying neutral.
“Not everyone will be doing that. It might not be a lot, but there must be those who have taken a side due to the acts of the disciples and now Miss Cheon Miryo is here.”
Cho Ah-ran continued,
“They will move more precisely and stealthily. Giving them what they want.”
The Earth Demon could not say anything. Actually, he was thinking of doing that. However, there was no right reason to do it, and it felt difficult to initiate.
“If you want to do that, how about the Black Demon Hall?”
It was then that Cheon Miryo who was silent spoke.
“…!”
“Ah…”
“Miss…”
The three of them were confused, and the Earth Demon especially seemed shocked.
It was due to the fact that it was the one which held the most powerful troops among the eight halls, possessing a whopping 1,000 troops of which were all warriors who had reached the peak.
In addition, half of the ten captains trained were Peak Demon. They were the core unit of the sect.
“Miss Cheon Miryo, they declared neutrality,”
The Earth Demon said as he held back his shock.
From the start of the power struggle of the disciples, the Black Demon Hall Leader officially declared he would not intervene in these conflicts.
So they never thought of it.
“Then we can make them.”
“…!”
Again they all looked at her, at those words.
“How…?”
When Ack Bi asked, she smiled.
“Wouldn’t that be the role of our secret warrior?”
“…?”
“Am I right, Mr. Seol-Hwi?”
In an instant, all eyes gathered on a single person. Seol-Hwi noticed it and nodded.
“Maybe so.”
He was already looking at the text.
<The secret warrior’s mission, which will you choose?> ▶Persuade the Black Demon Hall Leader ▷Persuade the other Hall Leaders
The mission to a secret warrior was to assassinate a key warrior in Kangho in the past, so now he was somehow convinced that this was a person he had to meet.