Chapter 437: A Dagger Hidden Behind Sweet Words (1)
You want to appoint Gu Chil as the next Captain of the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad?
"Are you saying you'll give it to Gu Chil because I won't accept it?"
"Those people will become puppets of Jeolyeong and his ilk anyway, thoroughly reduced to expendables. In that case… it's better for them to be under your command."
I let out a small laugh at his drawn-out words.
"You're using tricks, which is unlike you."
"Hmph! Does it look that way?"
"It's too blatant."
That was no different from hiring me to kill White Ghost Commander Jeolyeong.
In the past, I would have snapped at him to look after those he'd already killed.
But since it was his final moment, a little mercy wouldn’t hurt.
"Well, fine. I’ll take the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad under me. After all, I’ll need more than a few people to rebuild the collapsed Divine Cult."
"...Yes, thank you."
Buuuuung!
When Cheon Jumun stretched out his hand, a dazzling sword flew in from the surrounding debris.
Judging by the energy, which wasn’t particularly exceptional compared to the decoration, it seemed like a sword used by the warriors of the imperial clan...
"It’s not comparable to you, but thanks to the grace of the Cult Leader, I was able to acquire at least a portion of the Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi."
Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi was a martial art that didn’t allow entry to those deemed unworthy.
However, Cheon Jumun was recognized by the former Cult Leader and was allowed to learn the Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi from him.
Hwaruk!
The black-blue Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi I had seen before climbed up the sword’s blade.
At a glance, its color resembled Master’s sword, but unlike Master’s sword, which flowed like a majestic stream, this one burned much more freely.
Puk!
Without hesitation, Cheon Jumun stabbed the sword into his own heart.
-You... you bastard… are you insane?!
Inside Cheon Jumun, Do-ol began a frenzied outburst.
Not stopping at stabbing his own heart, Cheon Jumun began driving his entire body's vital acupoints into overdrive, pushing his body toward self-destruction.
Kkudeudeudeuk!
His veins burst all over his body.
Cheon Jumun's Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi steadily began driving his body to irreparable collapse.
Just when Do-ol, unable to endure it, tried a second escape.
"Finish it."
At Cheon Jumun’s words, I nodded and placed the blade edge of the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword to his glabella.
Transcendent Martial Technique
Heavenly Demon’s Dominion
As pressure was applied simultaneously from within and without, Do-ol's ghostly soul began to crumple.
-You… foolish bastard!
Though he had failed in this era,
whether it be a thousand or two thousand years—
as long as Heavenly Evil existed in this land, he would one day revive.
When that day came again, he would thoroughly defile this land.
So thought Do-ol, sensing his long winter slumber approach.
-No. No, you can’t.
-Where do you think you’re going?
-Huh?
For a moment, he doubted his eyes.
At some point, six human phantoms had appeared around him.
They all simultaneously reached out and began pulling in Do-ol’s dispersing soul.
-W-Wait! Who the hell are you?!
Do-ol was horrified as he realized who they were.
Those who, a thousand years ago, had overwhelmingly suppressed him and the other three of the Four Atrocities.
-Sorry, but you don’t get to sleep.
-Until Heavenly Evil is extinguished, you’ll suffer with us for eternity.
-Our youngest is suffering so much over there—how could we, as his seniors, just sit back?
Their lingering forms all smiled wickedly as they restrained and dragged Do-ol away.
-N-No! No no no no!!
Do-ol realized it instinctively.
The moment he was dragged ‘beyond’, it would be the end for him.
But he no longer had the strength to shake off these hands.
-Let's go.
The one deepest inside, seemingly their leader, turned around.
-Nooooooooooo!
That final scream was Do-ol’s last.
And not long after—
Pashak!
As Do-ol's soul was absorbed into the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, Cheon Jumun's body turned white and began to crumble into ashes.
Pashak! Pasasak!
"……."
I carefully gathered the remains of Cheon Jumun, now reduced to powder like cremated ashes.
Cheon Jumun clearly had much more to offer in the future. He could have become the new core of the Cheon Clan and earned fame as the sword of the Divine Cult.
But he chose to lead the Killing Ghosts of the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad for his entire life, living in the shadows, away from the official hierarchy of the Divine Cult.
At the meaningless death of such a great martial artist, I blankly stared at his remains for a while.
And once I came back to my senses—
"Gu Chil."
"……!"
"Don’t bother hiding. Come out."
Right after I spoke those words—
Gu Chil’s figure leapt out from the shadows stretched along the long debris.
"He, hehehe…."
"You never listen even when I tell you to stay out of harm’s way."
Gu Chil made an awkward face and offered an excuse.
"But I did carry out the order properly."
Well, Gu Chil wasn’t the type to act against a direct command.
I let out a small sigh as I looked at Gu Chil, who stood awkwardly, glancing my way.
"I’m sorry."
"……."
"Though it wasn’t intentional, I ended up resolving your grudge in your place."
I slightly bowed my head to Gu Chil.
No matter how entangled grudges in the jianghu may be, taking over someone else’s vendetta is generally considered a serious discourtesy.
"Please don’t say that."
From Gu Chil came a stiff and serious tone.
"For a master to resolve a subordinate’s matter—if anything, the subordinate should be grateful."
"……."
"Rather… facing Cheon Jumun with my own skills might have remained a distant dream for the rest of my life."
"Well, that’s true."
As I agreed without hesitation, Gu Chil slightly pouted.
His eyes conveyed, ‘Did you really have to say it like that?’
"Anyway…."
Gu Chil scratched the back of his head, looking away.
When I first met him in this life, he had a shiny bald head, but now he had grown his hair long enough to be considered decent.
"When I found out that what happened to the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad wasn’t the Captain’s doing, most of my resentment faded."
Or more precisely, he already knew it hadn’t been Cheon Jumun’s scheme.
It was just that his aimless hatred, born from personally massacring his comrades, had been directed at him.
But now the situation was different.
"Please allow me to take the head of that bastard Jeolyeong with my own hands."
"…Alright."
"And let me be the one to retrieve the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad that’s gone astray."
At that moment, a fairly solid structure formed in my mind.
What if I appointed Underworld King’s Unit to So Soryu, the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad to Myeong-oh, and made Gu Chil the overall Captain?
It would form a pretty good competitive dynamic, like the Left and Right Guardian Lions of the Law Enforcement Hall.
'That’s for later.'
"You heard what Cheon Jumun said. I won’t interfere in your path any further. Handle it as you will."
"……Yes."
"Well, anyway. Since you’re here…."
I pointed past the completely devastated site toward the inner area.
"Go catch Sa Bihwan. He’s probably hiding nearby."
To restore the Black Gold Clan to its rightful state, Sa Bihwan must be killed.
And that, by Sa Biyeon’s own hand.
"Yes!"
With that, Gu Chil received the order and dashed off.
‘Now then.’
I opened both hands and drew up the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
In one hand, the power of Black Red. In the other, the power of Black Gold.
"The power of Heavenly Evil… I don’t feel anything particularly strange though…."
-The main body agrees. Seems like that bastard Do-ol was spouting nonsense….
Unless Yorang was lying, this was definitely odd.
-He’s the most perceptive among the Four Atrocities. He might have seen something not apparent on the surface.
"…That’s possible."
I closed my eyes and slowly began focusing on my inner consciousness.
Indeed, the moment Do-ol reacted to the power of Heavenly Evil was when I drew upon the power of the Heavenly Demon Founder.
The moment the power of the Heavenly Demon Founder manifested, my consciousness slowly sank beneath the surface.
‘There must be someone who influenced my power.’
I sent a strong intent toward the power of the Heavenly Demon Founder.
‘Reveal yourself.’
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art condensed in the lower dantian began to take form under the intent I sent.
And before long—
‘Two people?’
The materialized Heavenly Demon Divine Art took the form of two human figures.
One was, as I had somewhat guessed, the divine maiden Han Yeong whom I had encountered in the seal sphere of the Grand Heavenly Lord brought by the Hwan Clan.
And the other, unexpectedly—
‘Why are you….’
A woman with sharper features than Yura.
‘Lady Cheon Yujeong.’
***
At the summit of Soaring Demon Peak.
With the Cult Leader’s enthronement ceremony approaching, Cheon Jumyeong was summoned by someone.
You might wonder if there was anyone who could command the soon-to-be Cult Leader, a position second to none.
Unfortunately, in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the position of Cult Leader was one where the phrase ‘second to none’ held true.
"It’s been a while, Clan Head. Or should I say Cult Leader now?"
"……."
Cheon Jumyeong did everything he could to maintain his expression at the sudden summons of the Grand Heavenly Lord.
Behind the Grand Heavenly Lord, the Sixth Heavenly Lord glared fiercely in his direction.
"What have you called me here for, Grand Heavenly Lord?"
The Grand Heavenly Lord, in the form of a beautiful woman, smiled softly.
"Oh, it’s nothing much. Just wanted to hear your esteemed opinion… regarding an obstacle that must be cleared before the great event."
‘As expected….’
It was certainly due to the policy to widen the battlefront that she had called him.
"I understand the Cult Leader’s intentions to some extent. But there is one critical flaw."
"I’d like to hear your opinion."
She took something out from her bosom.
"……!"
The moment he saw what the Grand Heavenly Lord had taken out, Cheon Jumyeong nearly failed to control his expression.
Something black and shaped like a seal.
"The Heavenly Demon Seal."
"Exactly."
One of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s sacred treasures, symbolizing the authority of the Heavenly Demon.
He had suspected it might be so, and indeed, the Grand Heavenly Lord had not overlooked the existence of the Heavenly Demon Seal.
Without a change in expression, Cheon Jumyeong said,
"If you’ve brought it to give it to me, I’ll gratefully accept it. Even if it’s said to be useless, it’s still one of the Cult Leader’s sacred items."
"Fufu…"
The Grand Heavenly Lord gave a subtle smile and instead asked,
"Giving it to you isn’t the problem. But if that bastard is after this, then what will you do?"
"Naturally, I’ll protect it with my life. But it should hold no particular meaning for him."
The smiling expression of the Grand Heavenly Lord turned slightly cold.
"Are you being sincere right now?"
Kkudeuk!
In an instant, a pressure surged from the entire body of the Grand Heavenly Lord, and Cheon Jumyeong nearly dropped to his knees.
But he desperately withstood the pressure and said,
"Yes, I’m sincere."
"……."
"That belongs to the Cheon Clan. Even if someone bearing the surname Jin takes it, it’s meaningless."
"Hmm?"
The Grand Heavenly Lord stared intently at Cheon Jumyeong’s face for a long while.
"……."
"……."
"Are you truly thinking that, or are you just trying to muddle through…."
"I don’t understand what you mean…."
At Cheon Jumyeong’s shameless response, the Grand Heavenly Lord gave a faint scoff.
"Well, fine. Sangdo."
"Yes, Master."
The Sixth Heavenly Lord, who had been standing behind, answered respectfully and stepped forward.
He hadn’t paid much attention to him earlier, but now he saw the Sixth Heavenly Lord was holding something long wrapped in silk.
The Grand Heavenly Lord gave a subtle smile with her eyes.
"Take it all."
The moment he received the silk bundle from the Sixth Heavenly Lord, Cheon Jumyeong realized its true nature—it was a sword.
"……!"
When he unwrapped the silk, what appeared before Cheon Jumyeong’s eyes was… the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
None other than the sacred item of Cult Leader Cheon Yura.