Seo-jun listened to the woman and the administrator talk about the Demonic Cult.
He’d already heard some things from Namgung Jincheon, but since these two were locals, he figured they might offer a different perspective.
And indeed, the results weren’t bad. More than anything, it was easy. They answered his questions without suspicion, no matter how ridiculous.
Sometimes, they gave him odd looks when he asked something obvious, but they quickly composed themselves and provided sincere answers.
‘So the Demonic Cult is essentially split into two factions?’
No, more accurately, the forces of demons (ma) were divided into two groups—the Demonic Cult and everyone else.
The latter group consisted of demonic practitioners unaffiliated with the cult. Surprisingly, there were quite a few of them, and the ratio of lunatics among them was much higher than even within the cult.
Of course, demonic practitioners already had a different mindset by default. From an orthodox perspective, finding a sane person in the Demonic Cult was difficult enough.
But rogue demonic practitioners were apparently so unpredictable that even the cult viewed them as unstable.
“Do these unaffiliated lunatics ever attack the cult?”
“It’s rare, but… they’re too unpredictable to be certain.”
“I see.”
While Seo-jun nodded, the woman—Gak-yu—was deep in thought.
‘The Minor Heavenly Demon must have spent his life training in the deepest parts of the cult.’
That would explain why no one had ever heard of him.
Every time he asked a question that seemed too basic, Gak-yu became more convinced of this.
Seo-jun, meanwhile, was thinking something entirely different.
‘What do I do now…?’
His original plan was to stir up trouble, weaken the cult’s influence, and gather information in the process.
He had even considered eliminating this Gak-yu after extracting enough information.
But she was so cooperative that he felt a little hesitant about snapping her neck.
Sighing, Seo-jun spoke.
“Do you know why I’m letting you live?”
From their perspective, it was a terrifying question. Both the administrator and Gak-yu immediately prostrated themselves.
“We’re listening…!”
“I was planning to kill you. Especially you.”
Gak-yu trembled under his gaze.
“I despise people who harm children. Especially those who target defenseless brats who haven’t even shed their baby fat.”
“H-hurk…!”
Gak-yu flinched. Clearly, she felt guilty.
Bowing her head even lower, she cried out.
“A lowly being like me deserves death for offending the Minor Heavenly Demon! May you unify the demonic world!”
And then, she tried to kill herself. Her demonic energy twisted violently, ready to explode.
‘What the hell is wrong with her?’
Seo-jun immediately pressed his hand against her head, calming the energy.
Gak-yu trembled as if witnessing a miracle.
“O-oh…! Your grace and power are beyond comprehension, Minor Heavenly Demon…!”
Seo-jun stared at her like she was insane but continued speaking.
“Cut the nonsense. Didn’t the cult order Ae Chuhyeon to increase its birthrate?”
“Yes! But if you desire, we’ll cancel the order immediately!”
“No need. Just make sure to implement policies that support the people.”
Support the people? Why?
Gak-yu pondered briefly before realizing.
‘Ah…! Of course! Fattened pigs taste better!’
To improve the quality of their prey, the environment had to be improved as well. She believed she understood Seo-jun’s intention.
She gestured to the administrator, who immediately bowed.
“We’ll obey your command!”
Seo-jun nodded. Whatever they thought, it seemed settled.
Now, only one matter remained.
“I’m leaving.”
“Please take care of yourself!”
“Before that, one question.”
After a brief pause, Seo-jun asked.
“Do you know of any demonic practitioner who uses lightning techniques?”
“Lightning techniques….”
Gak-yu furrowed her brows, recalling her travels across Tian Shan.
“It’s a bit far, but there’s a practitioner called the Violet Thunder Demon.”
“Who’s that?”
“He practices Violet Thunder Demonic Arts, a technique that uses human corpses to train. He settled in an area with little cult influence and frequently hunts nearby masters.”
“What’s his level?”
“I believe he’s at the late-stage transcendent level.”
Perfect.
As long as the Violet Thunder Demon wasn’t absurdly skilled, Seo-jun figured he could handle him.
After extracting detailed directions to the Violet Thunder Demon’s location, Seo-jun stood up.
“I’ll be going now. I hope there won’t be a reason for me to kill you the next time we meet.”
“Understood!”
*****
Seo-jun left Ae Chuhyeon.
The reason he’d come to the Demonic Cult in the first place was to find clues about Extreme Demonic Techniques.
Staying near the outskirts wouldn’t get him the answers he needed. He had to go deeper.
He also planned to find a lightning technique as a gift for Namgung Su-a along the way.
Instead of drawing attention with flashy movements, Seo-jun used moderate lightness techniques to cross Tian Shan. Even so, his speed was impressive.
By sunset, Seo-jun stopped to set up camp.
Feeling nostalgic, he gathered firewood, lit a bonfire, and leaned against a tree to rest.
—Firelight…!
That was when the growl reached his ears.
Opening his eyes slightly, Seo-jun scanned the area. Soon, a wild demonic practitioner burst out.
“Hey! Give me that fire!”
What the hell?
Seo-jun just stared, and the man charged at him.
“Kyaaaah…!”
Dark energy coated the attacker’s claws as he lunged in erratic, animal-like movements.
Splat!
Seo-jun swiped his hand, and the demonic practitioner vanished.
Looking at the blood splattered nearby, Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
“What the…? Are wild demonic practitioners this common in Tian Shan?”
Growl—!
Was it the smell of blood? Several presences began closing in.
Sighing, Seo-jun stood up.
Thud! Thud—!
Trees crashed as another demonic practitioner emerged, riding a beast that resembled a boar.
Seo-jun stared at the creature, and it abruptly threw its head back.
“Gaaah…!”
The rider was flung into the air.
Seo-jun unleashed Black Demonic Palm.
Boom—!
The blade-shaped qi soared through the air, shattering the demonic practitioner into pieces.
“You shouldn’t hang around with those kinds of friends. Go find better company.”
Seo-jun patted the boar-like demonic beast’s head. It snorted happily and trotted away.
After making sure the beast left, Seo-jun drew his sword.
“Stop hiding and come out.”
He spun, swinging his sword wide.
Swoosh—!
A massive arc of sword energy burst forth, cutting down all the nearby trees.
“Graaah!”
“Kyak!”
Several demonic practitioners hidden nearby were also bisected.
One of them leaped into the air to dodge, but Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
“You must be the leader.”
He seemed to be around the early-to-mid transcendent level.
The demonic practitioner kicked off a falling tree and lunged forward, his claws wreathed in qi.
“You’ll make a fine material!”
Yellowed teeth gleamed through his grinning mouth.
‘So these are the leftovers, huh.’
The kind of practitioners unaffiliated with the Demonic Cult—wild and unpredictable.
Seo-jun infused demonic energy into his blade and fired it.
Whoosh—!
The demonic practitioner twisted midair to avoid the attack.
“Die quietly!”
He propelled himself off the air, closing the distance instantly.
His right arm swelled, sprouting coarse fur.
‘Mutation type.’
One of the newer, trendier demonic techniques.
Seo-jun raised his hand to meet the attack.
BOOM—!!
Debris scattered everywhere.
The demonic practitioner smirked as he gripped Seo-jun’s hand.
“My body is harder than steel!”
“Steel?”
Wasn’t that something brittle?
At the transcendent level, steel wasn’t considered particularly tough.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seo-jun’s hand pulsed with alternating yin and yang energy—Reversal Yin-Yang Explosion.
Boom—!
The demonic practitioner’s swollen arm exploded.
“Graaah!”
He stumbled back, howling in pain. Seo-jun smirked.
“You should watch your back.”
Whoosh—!
The sword Seo-jun had thrown earlier returned, slicing off the remaining arm.
“Gah!”
The demonic practitioner screamed, now armless.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Suddenly, a massive surge of demonic energy erupted from his body.
It wasn’t a suicide attempt. Seo-jun’s eyes narrowed as he studied the transformation.
‘He’s merging his essence, qi, and spirit with demonic energy.’
This was exactly how Namgung Jincheon had described Extreme Demonic Transformation.
‘So demonic practitioners can attempt the leap to extreme demonic techniques even if they’re unqualified?’
Seo-jun recalled Namgung Jincheon’s warnings.
Right before his eyes, the demonic practitioner’s essence, qi, and spirit twisted, evolving into something grotesque.
Groooowl—!
Monstrous limbs sprouted from the stumps of his arms.
Another leg emerged, leaving him with three legs. His head warped, becoming an unrecognizable lump of flesh.
“Kyaaaah!”
Seo-jun watched the writhing monstrosity and nodded.
“So this is what happens.”
Thud—!
The creature charged, its massive hands burning with qi.
It was stronger than before—its reasoning was gone, but it had undeniably evolved.
But that was all.
Seo-jun smirked and raised his sword as it returned to his hand.
“You’re not much use.”
He’d hoped to learn something useful about demonic techniques, but this wasn’t it.
The monster’s claws swung down as Seo-jun lightly slashed his sword.
Slice—!
His sword, infused with the Reversal Sun and Moon Qi, glided through without resistance, slicing the monster cleanly in half.
Rip—
Thud—!
The halved corpse fell, releasing a faint steam from its severed sections.
Seo-jun stared at the body for a moment before sheathing his sword.
‘Interesting.’
Tian Shan was certainly teeming with experts. Even transcendent-level practitioners were showing up like common bandits.
High risk, high reward.
Seo-jun felt like he was starting to grasp the essence of demonic techniques.
*****
“Aaaahhh!”
A deer-headed human grabbed someone.
“P-please spare me…!”
Wait, no. Was it a stag because of the antlers?