The structure of the orthodox (Jeongpa) and unorthodox (Sapa) factions resembles feudalism. Each region is ruled by a dominant sect, and among them, the most powerful are called the Sixteen Great Clans (Sipnyuk Myeongmun) and the Seven Demonic Black Gates (Chil Sa Heukmun).
The Demonic Cult (Magyo), however, is somewhat different. It operates more like an absolute monarchy. At the top of all demonic martial artists is the Mara (Demonic Lord), with the Cheonma (Heavenly Demon) ruling Tian Shan as their representative.
For this reason, a war with the Demonic Cult inevitably becomes an all-out conflict.
The reason is simple.
In the case of the orthodox and unorthodox factions, their structure is closer to a coalition of sects, each with numerous locations to defend. If, for instance, they were to abandon a place like the North Sea Ice Palace, the coalition could fall apart entirely.
The Demonic Cult is different. They only need to defend the Heavenly Demon Temple (Cheonmajeon). They couldn't care less if the other regions were destroyed.
Since nearly all their forces are concentrated on the Heavenly Demon Temple, any group attempting to breach it must deploy equivalent power.
This means scraping together every transcendent martial artist (Hwakyung) and launching a full-scale assault.
Naturally, this is practically impossible. Unless the Demonic Cult suddenly harbored grand ambitions of summoning the Mara to the mortal realm, there would be no reason to even attempt such a feat.
And among the forces that make up the bulk of the Demonic Cult’s power (excluding the Cheonma, of course) are the Chilma—the Seven Demonic Masters.
These are the seven strongest Grand Demons (Daemadu) of the Demonic Cult.
While not an official ranking of all martial artists within the Cult, the title is not without basis. With the exception of reclusive martial artists, the Chilma are undoubtedly among the top ten strongest individuals.
And Seo-jun had recently encountered half of them. Including the Priestess, he had seen four of the Seven Demonic Masters. A truly astonishing feat.
Namgung Jincheon was amazed.
“Hah… It feels strange to say this, but… you’re truly fortunate to have made it back alive.”
Chun-bong was horrified.
“You… you crazy bastard! What the hell were you doing out there?! Do you think you have three or four lives to spare?!”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never died before…”
“Arghhhh!”
Chun-bong clutched her head in frustration and lunged at Seo-jun.
“Let’s see how many lives you’ve got today! You’re going to die, you bastard!”
Die, Lee Seo-jun…!
As Chun-bong unleashed a flurry of attacks, Seo-jun endured her blows while Namgung Jincheon observed him intently.
For a moment, Namgung Jincheon’s eyes gleamed.
“It seems you’ve achieved something remarkable…”
“Oh, right! I almost forgot to show you.”
Seo-jun grinned, pulling the furious Chun-bong into his arms to restrain her.
“Watch closely, Golden Chun-bong. This is the future Heavenly Demon, Cheon Seo-jun.”
As Seo-jun activated the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts (Cheonma Singong), his consciousness blurred. His soul soared to new heights, perceiving the world in its entirety, and an overwhelming sense of omnipotence coursed through him.
“Huu…”
With a soft exhale, the atmosphere in the family hall grew heavy. Chun-bong, still in his arms, let out a surprised hiccup.
“W-What…?”
Seo-jun’s appearance hadn’t changed much—only a pair of large horns had sprouted from his temples.
But the aura around him had transformed. A strange, oppressive pressure weighed down on everyone in the room. Simply witnessing it was enough to make one’s body shrink in response.
Trembling, Chun-bong reached out a hand. Seo-jun’s gaze followed her movement until her hand finally touched its target.
“Huh…?”
Seo-jun flinched.
Chun-bong began to carefully examine his horns.
“Wow… What are these…?”
She knocked on the horns lightly, rubbed them with her fingers, and even licked them experimentally before letting out a puzzled hum. Finally, she bit down on one of them.
“Ugh…! Hey, hey! Wait a second! This… this feels weird!”
“Hmm? What’s weird?”
“Do horns usually have… sensation?!”
This felt incredibly strange. Something about it was… indescribable, but definitely unsettling.
“But these horns are so sturdy. Why would they feel like this?”
The horns weren’t just for show—they could pierce steel. Seo-jun had even used them to block swords in battle, and it hadn’t hurt at all.
Chun-bong shrugged.
“How should I know?”
“Arghhh! Stop biting them!”
For some reason, it felt like their usual dynamic had flipped. Seo-jun clutched his horns protectively and retreated in haste.
Watching them with a fond smile, Namgung Jincheon finally spoke.
“You’ve achieved something truly incredible. It seems, though, that you’re not fully aware of your own body or abilities yet, correct?”
“Oh, yeah. I only just reached this level, so I think I’ll need to study it more.”
“Hmm… At higher levels, contemplation of oneself becomes more important than physical training.”
“Should I start meditating or something, then?”
Namgung Jincheon frowned slightly, thinking for a moment before replying.
“That… is for you to decide.”
“Huh?”
“Have you ever hit a bottleneck in your growth?”
“Nope.”
“Then just continue as you are. I believe you’ll naturally grow stronger by following your instincts.”
“Ah… I see.”
Seo-jun pulled Chun-bong into a firm hug, restraining her once again.
“By the way, Father-in-law.”
“Yes?”
“You showed me the Self-Wielding Sword Technique (Igiyuhgeom) last time.”
“I did.”
“When I fought the Seven Demonic Masters, I realized that if I had used the Self-Wielding Sword Technique better, the fight would’ve been much easier.”
“The technique is certainly effective for handling multiple opponents.”
“Could you teach me a bit more of it?”
Namgung Jincheon chuckled softly.
“Of course. The Self-Wielding Sword Technique is my specialty, so I can teach you plenty.”
Listening quietly, Chun-bong suddenly perked up.
“Then while you’re at it, show me that thing too.”
“That thing? What thing?”
“The one from last time during Si Hyeol Mancheon. You know, with all the extra arms.”
“You mean my Demonic Transformation? Why?”
Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong as if she were the odd one.
“Why? Because it’s freaking awesome! It’s so cool!”
Her eyes sparkled like a galaxy. Seo-jun’s expression twisted awkwardly.
“My Chun-bong, your tastes are… unique.”
“What? Ask anyone else! They’ll all say it’s awesome!”
Seo-jun turned to Namgung Jincheon, who simply shrugged.
“I haven’t seen it, so I wouldn’t know.”
*
“Hmm… that is certainly an unusual taste,” Namgung Jincheon muttered, taking a few steps away from Seo-jun. Despite his martial prowess, Namgung Jincheon had always disliked anything he found grotesque.
Seo-jun, slightly hurt, scooped up Chun-bong, who had been playing with his transformed arm, and placed her on his shoulders. Chun-bong laughed gleefully.
“Wow! Six arms!”
“Yeah, as long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”
As Seo-jun entertained Chun-bong with his six arms, he activated the Self-Wielding Sword Technique and drew his demonic sword.
They left the main house and moved to the vast plains a short distance from the Namgung Clan estate, stopping on a small hill.
Standing on the hill, Seo-jun prepared himself, the Self-Wielding Sword Technique in full effect. In response, Namgung Jincheon also activated the same technique.
Wooong—
Namgung Jincheon’s sword emitted a faint resonance. He nodded approvingly.
“My son-in-law grows stronger day by day. It’s a source of pride.”
“Huh, are you talking about Mother-in-law? It feels like it’s been ages since I last saw her.”
Namgung Jincheon gave a bitter smile, his expression unsettling, as though only the surface of his face had moved.
“It might be that time is running out for her…”
Seo-jun blinked, his thoughts racing. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he decided to stay silent. He wasn’t sure what to say.
Namgung Jincheon smiled softly this time.
“Don’t dwell on it. Everything flows according to its natural course.”
“Um, Father-in-law? You know I’m supposed to be the Sprout of the Ten Thousand Demonic Lord. Kind of like the poster boy for defying the heavens?”
Seo-jun wondered if there was some way he could help. If Namgung Jincheon’s sword truly carried some essence of his mother-in-law, surely he could offer something.
But Namgung Jincheon shook his head.
“No, don’t concern yourself with it. Whatever the heavens might dictate, I could never bring myself to betray her. If I let my greed take over, she would only be disappointed in me.”
Of course. If it were something Namgung Jincheon truly wanted, he would have accomplished it long ago.
As the Namgung Clan’s sword that embraced the heavens, it wouldn’t be hard for him to rend that same heaven apart if he turned it toward defiance.
Namgung Jincheon’s mastery of the orthodox way of the sword was unparalleled, but it only needed the slightest shift in direction to become a blade that defied the heavens.
Seo-jun himself had borrowed extensively from the Namgung Clan’s martial arts to develop the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.
Namgung Jincheon closed his eyes briefly before offering a wry smile.
“Forgive me, son-in-law… Could we continue this another day?”
“Oh, of course! Absolutely.”
“Thank you.”
Namgung Jincheon gave him a faint smile before vanishing. Even with Seo-jun’s current prowess, the speed at which Namgung Jincheon moved was difficult to track.
Seo-jun blinked, stunned. He found himself alone with Chun-bong, the heavy atmosphere pressing down on them both. Chun-bong, who had been fiddling with his transformed arm, now sat motionless, her wide eyes darting nervously.
Seo-jun broke the silence awkwardly.
“Uh, s-should we go…?”
“Yeah… let’s go…”
Their eyes met, and they both nodded simultaneously, deciding to head back to the Namgung estate.
Seo-jun thought it might be better to take a break. After all, he had just arrived at the estate. Surely a little rest was warranted.
Carrying Chun-bong on his shoulders, Seo-jun utilized his light-footed movement technique, suppressing the sigh that threatened to escape his lips.
‘Is there really nothing I can do for Father-in-law?’
The figure of the man closest to being the greatest under the heavens wasn’t as towering as Seo-jun had imagined.
*
Seo-jun, racking his brain for a way to shift the topic, eventually came up with what he thought was a suitable subject.
“How did it go? That closed-door training you mentioned.”
“Hm? Well… not bad,” Chun-bong replied, her tone not exactly brimming with enthusiasm.
Her reaction seemed lukewarm at best. Seo-jun glanced at her as she trailed along beside him, her hand in his. She quickly averted her gaze.
“Well, I hit a bit of a wall… but when I felt like you were coming, I decided to just stop and come out.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, no big deal. Just take it slow.”
“You think so?”
Chun-bong smiled shyly. Even so, she must have been somewhat bothered, as the moment they arrived at their quarters, she picked up her sword and headed to the training ground, claiming she wanted to get in a little practice.
“Go, Chun-bong! You got this!”
With a triumphant gesture, Chun-bong raised a fist and marched off. Seo-jun chuckled as he entered the room.
‘But where’s Sua?’
She was nowhere to be seen. Normally, she would have appeared by now, greeting him with a smile.
“Hm?”
Something on the floor caught his eye—a piece of paper. Or was it a letter?
Curious, he picked it up and unfolded it. The handwriting was so elegant that he couldn’t help but be impressed. The note was brief, essentially asking if he could come to Pyeon-un Pavilion.
Pyeon-un Pavilion was one of the many gazebos within the Namgung Clan estate, complete with a sizable lotus pond.
‘Sua, maybe?’
With little thought, Seo-jun tucked the letter into his robes and made his way toward the pavilion. A few light steps using his movement technique brought him there in no time.
Since Seo-jun hadn’t arrived at the estate particularly early, the sun had already set, and a gentle darkness enveloped the surroundings.
The pavilion, surrounded by white hydrangeas, was picturesque under the soft moonlight. Standing beneath the roof, Namgung Sua had her back to him.
“Sua?”
At his call, her head turned slightly.
“You’re here?”
Namgung Sua turned fully, her smile radiant. But what truly caught Seo-jun’s attention was how different she looked.
Her outfit was still blue, but far more elaborate than usual. Accessories such as a waist belt, earrings, and a necklace added an elegant flair. Her hair was styled differently as well, adorned with an ornamental hairpin. Despite the intricate attire, her serene demeanor lent her an air of dignified beauty.
Seo-jun found himself momentarily speechless, simply staring at her.
Then a thought struck him.
‘Wait. A hairpin?’
It was rare for an unmarried woman to wear such an ornate hairpin unless it was for a special occasion. Was something going on?
As he stood frozen, silent, Namgung Sua approached with a curious expression.
“What do you think? This outfit.”
Beautiful.
The word didn’t seem enough. His limited vocabulary made it hard to describe her. Though Seo-jun wasn’t used to giving compliments, he spoke the first thing that came to mind.
“You’re beautiful. I can’t tell whether you or the flowers are prettier.”
Namgung Sua chuckled softly.
“Where do you even learn lines like that?”
“Romance novels?”
Even Seo-jun felt his answer was a bit silly, but she seemed pleased, so he counted it as a win.
“You read those?”
“I did, a little while back.”
As Seo-jun stepped into the pavilion, Namgung Sua rang a bell hanging from a long cord.
Ding.
The soft chime sent waves of energy rippling outward.
Shortly after, the maids of the Namgung Clan arrived, setting up a small table with drinks and snacks in the pavilion.
Seated gracefully at the table, Namgung Sua still wore a faint smile as she spoke.
“This might seem a little sudden, but… can I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Our engagement ceremony…?”
Those two words sent Seo-jun’s mind into overdrive.
‘Engagement… ceremony?’
He had no memory of hearing about such a thing. Could he have been so oblivious that he’d forgotten something so important?
No, that wasn’t it. As much of a fool as he might be sometimes, he’d remember something like that. This was genuinely the first he’d heard of it.
Then what on earth was this about?
Emergency…!
Wee-woo! Wee-woo! His mental alarm blared at full volume, warning of imminent disaster.