Chapter 378: In the Midst of Succession (1)
The Clan Leader of the Cheon Clan.
As could be seen from the Council of the Seven Elders, which made decisions on major matters of the Cheon Clan, unlike the Six Great Demonic Clans, there was no title of Clan Leader within the Cheon Clan.
The reason was simple.
The Cult Leader couldn’t afford to dedicate all attention solely to the Cheon Clan.
But if a separate Clan Leader were to be appointed for the Cheon Clan, it would be as if two suns rose within the Heavenly Demon Cult—a disastrous situation.
That was why, throughout history, the Cult Leaders had always entrusted the governance of the Cheon Clan to a group of elders rather than a single individual.
Historically, the elders of the Cheon Clan had followed the decisions of the Cult Leader without much opposition.
That was, until a Cult Leader like Cheon Yura appeared—one who failed to gain the support of the Cheon Clan.
No one dared open their mouth carelessly.
Such was the magnitude of the shock caused by the information brought by Bu Il-hwa.
"The bastards of the Cheon Clan have lost their minds."
After a long silence, the Saber Demon was the first to speak.
"Damn it. This is practically no different from denying the very existence of the Cult Leader."
No one refuted the Saber Demon’s words.
For the Cheon Clan to act so outrageously—such a thing had never happened once in the entire history of the Demonic Cult.
"Faction Lord, this isn’t something you can handle alone."
Jin Gun-ak, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
"Right now, the Cheon Clan has practically declared war, implying one of the two must be destroyed."
"……."
"Forget civil war or anything else. We must mobilize every available force to protect you and the Cult Leader."
However—
I shook my head in response to Jin Gun-ak’s words.
"My stance hasn’t changed."
"Jin. Yeo. Myung!!"
Boom boom boom boom!
Jin Gun-ak’s fury erupted vividly.
As the storm of qi from the outburst swept through the surroundings—
"Well, what a temper."
The Saber Demon stepped in front of me and dispelled Jin Gun-ak’s blast.
A trace of anger flickered across the Saber Demon’s expression.
"Separate the personal from the official, Jin Gun-ak. Personally, he may be your son, but right now, he stands as the Acting Cult Leader."
"……."
Jin Gun-ak’s aura visibly weakened at the Saber Demon’s warning.
The fact that he had called my name without considering the occasion was proof of how furious he was.
Well, if this had been in the past, I might’ve dropped to my knees in fear immediately—but now, my head had grown too heavy to bow to Jin Gun-ak.
"Clan Leader Jin. If you find me that untrustworthy, I can prove myself as much as you like."
"…Prove yourself?"
Without a word, I tapped lightly on the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword tied at my waist.
Tap, tap!
The meaning behind the gesture was simple.
"……Huh?"
Apparently not expecting me to go this far, Jin Gun-ak blinked in momentary daze, his mouth slightly open.
The suffocating tension that had gripped the hall instantly shifted into an atmosphere charged with intrigue.
"This is something even a thousand gold coins couldn’t buy a ticket to witness, isn’t it?"
The White-Faced Demon General, Jang Gil-san, murmured quietly.
Even Yama Blade, who had been nodding off near the end of the table, was now wide-eyed, intently watching us.
Gu Eumhyeoljyo stroked his beard.
"Indeed. The skill you displayed when facing the Death King Enforcer from the Cheon Clan was far beyond the Extreme Demon Realm. I do wonder what might have happened had the Cult Leader not interfered at the end."
The first of the Six Demon Dragons, Demonic Heavenly Dragon.
That was the current public title directed at me as the Demonic Faction Lord, but the elders who had witnessed the events within the Cheon Clan firsthand knew the truth.
A peerless genius who rivaled—no, perhaps even surpassed—the current Cult Leader Cheon Yura.
The title of first among the Six Demon Dragons actually severely underestimated his true worth.
In fact, other than the Cult Leader and the previous Cult Leader, perhaps no one knew the true extent of his martial prowess!
Not even his father, Jin Gun-ak!
Before long, Jin Gun-ak opened his mouth.
"…Faction Lord, as that damn Saber Demon said, you are both the husband of the Cult Leader and the Demonic Faction Lord who acts in her stead."
"That’s correct."
"But personally, you are also my eldest son."
"……."
Crack! Crackle!
At some point, hideous veins bulged on Jin Gun-ak’s face, likely from the rage boiling inside him.
"Heh, heh heh heh! I’m not the kind of man who can tolerate a son daring to challenge his father. Be it the eldest or the youngest."
As expected—he was going to take that stance.
"And what exactly are you saying?"
"Come at me. I’ll test with my own hands whether you can truly handle the Cheon Clan without support from another household."
"……!"
"……!!"
---
Privately, they were father and son.
Officially, it was a martial duel between the Clan Leader of the Jin Clan and the Demonic Faction Lord.
Naturally, every elder present wished to witness it firsthand….
"Only that one bastard Saber Demon gets to observe. Everyone else, get lost!"
Jin Gun-ak’s declaration twisted the faces of the other elders.
"Thunder Commander and Yama Blade may observe."
"Huh, seriously?!"
"Hmph! Ahem!"
Yama Blade beamed, and Sa Myeongnin coughed meaningfully as he smoothly moved inward.
"Yes, Yama Blade is my official supporter, and Thunder Commander is my comrade who shares in the great cause, is he not?"
"Hmph, hmph! That’s right."
Perhaps my flattery had its effect, as Sa Myeongnin’s face softened, and she nodded demurely.
The other elders looked at me with sparkling eyes as well, but there was no room for compromise beyond that.
Thus, in a deserted clearing nearby, accompanied by the three observers, Jin Gun-ak and I faced each other.
Crack! Crackle crack!
Jin Gun-ak approached me while loosening his fists and neck.
"You’ve grown a lot, my eldest. You even dare to go against a father as lofty as the heavens."
"I’ve grown so much that I’m now ready to inherit the throne."
"Heh, heh heh heh! Fine. But let me tell you one thing for sure."
"Even if you've grown, you're still far from surpassing a father like the heavens!"
Kugugugung!
A massive current of demonic qi began to swirl around Jin Gun-ak's entire body.
‘As expected of my father. He never holds back.’
The Demonic Heaven Asura Divine Art, pushed to its extreme.
From the beginning, it was clear he had no intention of going easy.
I also slowly drew out my internal energy to match his momentum.
In an instant, the clash of black demonic qi began to affect the surroundings.
Jin Gun-ak looked at me curiously and asked,
"Why aren't you drawing your sword?"
Sssik!
Instead of answering, I untied the scabbard of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword—
Whoosh!
—and threw it to Gu Chil, who was hiding far away and watching.
"……?!"
In the moment Jin Gun-ak and the other elders' eyes twisted in disbelief—
"From the start, I never had the slightest intention of using a sword."
"You insolent brat!"
Jin Gun-ak had originally intended to yield the first move, but with that one statement, he became completely enraged and launched his fist straight at me.
Tyrant Emperor Asura Divine Fist
Crushing Mountain Blood Strike
Jin Gun-ak's determination to obliterate me in a single blow was evident.
I didn't dodge that strike.
Instead, I raised my chin and received it head-on.
Kwaaaang!
Jin Gun-ak's steel-like fist pierced straight into my abdomen, and a shockwave exploded from my back.
The elders, including the Saber Demon, shouted in astonishment.
"W-what the—he’s not dead, is he?!"
No matter how resilient one was or even if one were the Sword Demon, taking a blow from Jin Gun-ak with just basic qi defense would be impossible.
If I had done something like that, my organs would've been pulverized instantly.
And yet...
"Hmm, quite spicy, Father’s punch."
"……?!"
Jin Gun-ak frowned as he felt an odd resistance from his eldest son's abdomen.
Before long, he realized the source of that strangeness.
"You... That technique, don't tell me...!"
At some point, faint steam and a red glow began to rise from my entire body.
"I don't recall ever teaching you that technique."
"Well, I happened to have a bit of a connection with the former generation."
I clenched my right fist and took my stance.
"If you don’t bring out your Asura God now, you’ll suffer... the consequences!"
The moment I finished speaking, I threw my fist at Jin Gun-ak’s face.
Tyrant Emperor Asura Divine Fist
Extreme Will, Unified Intent
The very first form of the Tyrant Emperor Asura Divine Fist that Jin Yeowoon had used against me.
That form had crossed time, crossed blood, and finally reached Father!
Kwaaaang!
Struck squarely by my Extreme Will, Unified Intent, Jin Gun-ak’s body flew dozens of jang away.
"Now then, shall we begin?"
I dashed toward the spot where Jin Gun-ak had been blown away.
"A good, old-fashioned Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan style fistfight!"
Fine, let's see what committing a little filial impiety feels like!
This is merely to satisfy a personal curiosity—absolutely not to vent the resentment of my past life!
"Uahahaha!"
While the father and son were beginning a battle staked on their pride—
***
Somewhere deep within the Cheon Clan, two middle-aged men in scholar’s robes met.
"Hahaha! A splendid choice, Jumyeong!"
"……."
Cheon Juchun spread his arms wide and approached Cheon Jumyeong.
The Clan Leader of the Cheon Clan.
Though there had been quite a bit of noise, Cheon Jumyeong had crushed all resistance with his signature ability.
Of course, that was only possible because Cheon Juchun was backing him.
"If you were going to accept, why act so difficult back there? You made me feel a little hurt."
Cheon Jumyeong didn’t respond to those words, but Cheon Juchun, pleased simply that Jumyeong had come to him, didn’t take issue with the attitude.
‘As I thought, he didn’t die back then.’
After being struck by a strange technique from Jin Yeomyung, Cheon Juchun had undoubtedly died on the spot.
And yet, here he was again, appearing before Cheon Jumyeong in perfect condition.
"…Where is Jumun?"
"Ah, he’s recovering somewhere right now. The injuries from that time weren’t exactly light."
"……."
"It’ll take some time before he can move again."
With just that one sentence, Cheon Jumyeong became certain that Cheon Juchun had no intention of releasing Cheon Jumun easily.
Cheon Jumun was essentially a hostage. Though on the surface it looked like a warm welcome, in truth, Cheon Juchun still harbored doubts about Cheon Jumyeong.
"As promised, I’ll make you the next Cult Leader. You can count on it."
Cheon Jumyeong shot back.
"I’ve been wondering... how exactly do you plan to make me Cult Leader?"
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible without expending more than half the strength of the Cult.
"If you intend to exhaust all of the Cult’s strength in a civil war, count me out. I’ve no desire to sit on a tattered throne."
"Ah, of course. Naturally, I have no intention of putting a brother on such a seat."
Cheon Juchun raised one finger and held it up in front of him.
"As I said before—just one person. We only need one person gone. Once he’s out of the way, bringing down the Cult Leader is an easy matter."
That one person, of course, was Jin Yeomyung.
But what Cheon Jumyeong was curious about was what came after.
"Bring down... the Cult Leader? How?"
To that question, Cheon Juchun stepped back with an ambiguous smile.
"That I can’t say for now. Let’s save that... as a surprise for later."
"……Fine."
He hadn’t expected to be told right away anyway.
At that moment, Cheon Juchun spoke with a subtle gaze.
"As you already know... we might not be dealing with a ruined throne, but some degree of civil strife will be unavoidable. Do you have a plan?"
"Of course."
Chwak!
Cheon Jumyeong opened his fan and covered his lower face.
Only his eyes, left uncovered, shone coldly.
"I will summon all those dissatisfied with the current Cult Leader."
"Hoh, those who are dissatisfied?"
"More precisely, those who were neglected by the former Cult Leader and pushed out from the political center."
Many of them had yet to retire and were still lurking throughout the Cult, looking for a chance to rise again.
And if they were to gather all the anti-Cheon Yura factions within the Cheon Clan?
"Against that monster, at the very least, they’ll serve as a shield."