Chapter 346: Five Great Halls Conference (3)
Rustle, rustle!
The grand conference hall prepared within the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
The hall, now crowded with hundreds of figures worthy of being called notable figures of the Cult, was anything but solemn.
Some carried expectations, some anxiety, and others fear.
A mixture of positive and negative emotions swirled, creating an overall restless atmosphere.
Just then, the Guardian Lions stationed at the entrance shouted in unison.
“The Cult Leader is entering!”
Thud!
At those words, everyone stopped talking and rose from their seats.
Rumble!
The massive iron doors, which I had barely managed to open in my past life, swung open lightly, and the new Cult Leader, Cheon Yura, revealed herself.
“We pay our respects to the Cult Leader!”
“Ten Thousand Years of the Cult! Eternal Prosperity to the Demonic Army!”
Passing through those bowing their heads and shouting blessings, Cheon Yura took her seat on the newly prepared jade throne.
That new throne, in fact, felt strangely familiar to me.
Cheon Yura raised her hand toward the gathered crowd.
“Be seated.”
At her command, everyone sat down again and began to fix their gazes on her.
I, however, did not sit on the separate throne prepared for me.
Instead, I took my place standing a few steps below her seat, at her side.
“There is something I must say first.”
Her voice echoed through the grand hall.
“With the approval of Great Elder Cheon Yeongha, the Demonic Faction Lord Jin Yeomyung shall preside over this conference in place of the Great Elder.”
“…!”
All eyes, which had been fixed on Cheon Yura, turned toward me at once.
Most of those seated at the top nodded indifferently or wore expressionless faces as if they had expected this much, but the reaction was starkly different among the rest.
An enormous shock.
I had, in effect, been seated in the position of Chancellor as the Cult’s Imperial Consort.
“…….”
“…….”
People began glancing at each other, silently stirred.
The opening display of power between the ruler and the officials was extremely important in the first conference.
It greatly influenced the power structure moving forward.
Honestly, it wouldn’t have been strange if the upper factions of the Cult, especially the Six Great Demonic Clans, tried to devour Cheon Yura—who was not only new to power but also a woman—and turn her into their puppet.
However.
Not a single representative of the Six Great Demonic Clans present here dared to object to her decision.
Seeing that, the sharper ones among the crowd immediately realized.
‘So all the deals have already been settled behind the scenes!’
That meant the young man standing before them was the true power holder of the Cult.
While many had somewhat expected this, actually witnessing it made the difference as vast as heaven and earth.
That didn’t mean there was no opposition at all.
“Let the conference begin.”
Just as Cheon Yura was about to raise her hand again.
Someone with a composed yet sharp expression stood up and respectfully clasped his hands.
“Cult Leader, may I say something before we begin?”
“…So here comes the unnecessary trouble.”
Jin Gun-ak clicked his tongue faintly, his expression souring.
He was Iro, the Second Elder of the Seven Elders, effectively the leader of the largest faction within the Cheon Clan.
“…Permission granted.”
Cheon Yura granted him leave to speak.
Receiving her permission, Iro turned his deep-set eyes toward me.
“Thank you for your generosity. Allow me to briefly share my concern.”
His gaze suddenly sharpened, enough to seem piercing.
“The position of Demonic Faction Lord originally replaced the status of the Demonic Empress.”
Oh? So that’s how you want to play it?
I smiled coldly to myself.
“Historically, when the Cult Leader’s consort involved themselves in the Cult’s politics, it never ended well.”
Iro launched a direct verbal attack while continuing to glare at me.
“Furthermore!”
His voice grew louder.
“If the Cult Leader transfers too much authority from the very start, it could severely undermine the authority of one who has only just begun her reign.”
Rustle, rustle!
A wave of murmuring began to ripple through the back of the hall.
“Especially since his origin lies within one of the Six Great Demonic Clans.”
Iro finished his speech in an earnest tone, as if he truly cared for her.
“I beg you to reconsider.”
No matter what I had done for Yura, no matter what achievements I had made, Iro did not mention any of it.
He tried to suppress my standing right from the start, using nothing but the weight of past precedent.
Of course, this was nothing more than a light probing.
But in the future, every time I made a mistake, Iro and the Cheon Clan’s Seven Elders would surely use this as grounds to drag me down at every turn.
“Hmph….”
Cheon Yura let out a disinterested snort toward Iro.
Startled by her reaction, Iro slightly flinched.
She glared at Iro with a crooked expression.
“Isn’t the very act of questioning me like this already an attempt to shake my authority?”
“That is absolutely not my intention!”
Iro, flustered, hurriedly stepped forward and knelt.
“Please do not doubt my loyalty!”
I laughed to myself in disbelief.
‘What a performance, old man. Truly worthy of his position as Iro of the Cheon Clan.’
Just then, a loyalist of Iro stood up and bowed deeply.
“There is no doubt about Iro’s loyalty!”
“Did I say otherwise?”
Cheon Yura’s crooked gaze remained unchanged.
“Since when did I say I was transferring authority to the Demonic Faction Lord?”
“…Pardon?”
Iro subtly lifted his head.
“He is merely presiding over this conference and acting as my representative. Do not presume to interpret my intentions on your own.”
Well, well.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
This was clearly Yura’s mistake.
In this situation, one must never make definitive statements.
And just as expected.
“Then that is a relief!”
Iro immediately relaxed his expression and returned to his seat with a bright smile.
No doubt, he would bring this up again every time power concentrated in my hands.
I coldly watched Iro’s subtly grinning face.
‘As expected, he’s not easy to deal with.’
One of the three figures I must be most wary of, along with Cheon Jumyeong and Han Mubaek.
Right now, I held the advantage thanks to my contributions, but if I kept getting cornered politically, the other Six Great Demonic Clans who stood with me might begin to rethink their position as well.
“If there are no more unnecessary words, let’s begin.”
At Cheon Yura’s words, I cleared my thoughts and stepped forward.
“Ahem! Then, under the rule of the Cult Leader, I hereby declare the first session of the Five Great Halls Conference to commence.”
The Five Great Halls Conference.
As the name implied, it was a meeting led by representatives of the five major halls supporting the Cult, discussing the future of the organization.
The participants were as follows:
Demonic Faction Lord Jin Yeomyung, proxy for the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
Demon Gentleman Cheon Jumyeong, Leader of the Heavenly Thunder Corps.
Black Gold Demon Warlord Sa Muyong, Leader of the Golden Demon Hall.
Thousand-Handed Witch Cheon Yeongha, Representative of the Elder Hall.
Heavenly Researcher Cheon Mujae, Leader of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.
I glanced briefly at the empty seat of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion Leader.
Since the Heavenly Demon Pavilion was where retired elders resided, the leader’s seat was officially vacant by rule.
After all, retirement signified the cutting of worldly ties, and the Heavenly Demon Pavilion only moved when the Cult itself faced a critical crisis.
Yes, something like the Murim Alliance invading all the way to the Ten Thousand Mountain, as they did in my past life.
I raised my voice as I looked around at everyone.
“First, in accordance with the reorganization of the Cult’s internal structure, I will announce the personnel changes for those ranked within the top five thousand of the Cult’s hierarchy.”
This had already been coordinated with the other Great Halls and relevant figures.
It was also the result of my sleepless efforts over the past several nights.
“First, starting with the Heavenly Demon Pavilion’s appointments.”
The personnel announcements for the first of the Five Great Halls, the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, began.
“Head of the Guardian Hall and Great Guardian, former Left Guardian Bloodless Thousand Slaughter Mujeong.”
In the end, Mujeong had accepted my offer and had been promoted to Great Guardian.
His loyalty would now shift toward Cheon Yura.
“For Left Guardian, former Grand Protector, the Crimson-Faced Demon Fighter Wang Cheongeol.”
It was only natural that Wang Cheongeol would become Left Guardian, unless some unexpected variable occurred.
“And….”
The next name I mentioned might have been the most surprising appointment of this session.
“Right Guardian, former Thousand-Day Pass Pavilion Leader Mist Prison Wolf Jo Jin-sang.”
Twitch!
At the mention of the Thousand-Day Pass Pavilion Leader, several elders of the Cheon Clan visibly frowned.
Truthfully, I had wrestled with this appointment.
Most of the trusted experts at the Extreme Demon Realm level already held positions, and the rest were either unregistered in the hierarchy or unreliable.
In that sense, the Thousand-Day Pass Pavilion Leader was the only viable candidate for the Guardian Hall at this moment.
“Continuing with the appointments for the Golden Demon Hall.”
The moment I announced the name of the Outer Administrator, a strange feeling washed over me.
“Outer Administrator, Cheon Myeosaeng Violet Profound Master.”
When that name was announced, someone at the far end of the hall stood up and gave a polite bow.
He looked to be in his late thirties at best.
‘Outer Administrator….’
He was the very man who had hounded me relentlessly alongside the Great Elder in my past life.
The one who had helped me quickly adapt to my role as Inner Adminstrator.
And the one who, on the last day of my past life, had been assassinated by traitors from the Guardian Hall who betrayed the Cult.
‘Well, let’s do well again in this life.’
Though not a member of the Sa Clan, Cheon Myeosaeng had risen to his position with their backing.
However, his surprisingly upright nature made him refuse to listen to Sa Bihwan, the Gold Dragon Demon Emperor and head of the Sa Clan in my past life.
Ultimately, he was abandoned by the Sa Clan when they defected from the Cult.
‘I’m sure Sa Myeongnin is pleased, thinking he placed a perfect puppet in position.’
As long as he didn’t have other ambitions, he was actually a decent appointment.
If not, well, I hoped he enjoyed the beating that would come his way.
I shifted my gaze away from the Outer Administrator and continued reading the list.
Nearly an entire two-hour period passed as I read through all the names.
Interestingly, there wasn’t much mention of the Heavenly Thunder Corps in this list.
I glanced toward Cheon Jumyeong, who sat with a lazy expression in the seat of honor.
‘…Cunning as always.’
I already knew that the Heavenly Thunder Corps had spread out their personnel in preparation for future successions.
However, most of them were future prospects, and there were few who currently held ranks high enough to warrant mention in this conference.
In other words, they weren’t in a position to be brought up in the current session.
‘They’re probably planning to gradually increase their influence, step by step.’
Though I had heard of Cheon Jumyeong’s past from the Cult Leader, I still couldn’t bring myself to trust him.
In my past life, Cheon Jumyeong and the Heavenly Thunder Corps had rotted the Cult’s foundations and led it to destruction.
‘But now isn’t the time for us to sharpen blades at each other. Both of us have too much work to do.’
I shifted my gaze from Cheon Jumyeong and bowed toward Cheon Yura.
“That concludes the announcements.”
“Well done.”
Despite the lengthy announcements that lasted an entire sijin, Cheon Yura seemed quite pleased with my composed delivery.
“Next, we must set the basic policy directions of the Cult and prepare strategies to deal with external forces. It seems the outside world is rather noisy these days.”
Many nodded in agreement.
Especially since the leadership of the Evil Overlords of Heaven, one of the top three demonic forces, had changed hands—something that undoubtedly required discussion.
“However, before that, I have something to declare.”
Swoosh!
She stood up from the jade throne.
And then, facing the entire assembly, she made her declaration.
“I, the Cult Leader, shall set forth on the path to ascend as the fourth Heavenly Demon within the next three years.”
“……!!”