So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 354 : Preparation (4)

Wi Jin-hak harbored a deep grudge against the Imperial Family who currently ruled over the Central Plains.And it wasn't just because they were the ones who had driven the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult into Xinjiang.

Through the schemes of the former Chief Elder Deung Bi, his youngest brother had nearly been killed multiple times. Not to mention his two other deceased brothers.

What made it worse was that Wi Jin-hak had only learned of this truth from the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord after he had already taken the seat of Cult Leader due to his late Master’s strict order to avoid starting a war.

The previous Heavenly Demon hadn't been afraid of war. He'd simply calculated that if the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was given just ten more years to grow stronger, they would be more than capable of conquering the Central Plains.

After hearing truths from the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord, Wi Jin-hak ascended to the throne of the Cult Leader while keeping his late Master’s last wish in mind. He had intended to honor that wish and quietly swallow his anger while waiting for the ripe time to come.

And yet, "So their means isn’t limited to planting that bastard Deung Bi inside of our cult. They're running some kind of scheme within the Central Plains as well."

After reading the letter that had arrived from Il-mok, Wi Jin-hak felt it intuitively.

His intuition told him that, whether or not he wanted it, he was probably going to get tangled up with the Imperial Family again sooner or later.

"For now, pass the contents of this letter to the Dark Shadow Pavilion Lord and to my Third Brother. The trail seemed to have gone cold lately, but it looks like we might be able to find another path."

Saying that, Wi Jin-hak handed Il-mok's letter to the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord.

Ever since it had come to light that Deung Bi and the Imperial Family's Eastern Depot were connected, the Dark Shadow Pavilion Lord and Seo Wan-pyeong had been chasing after them with everything they had. But those targets had already caught on to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's pursuit, and most of the trails had gone cold a long time ago.

In the process of that pursuit, not even the Silver Moon Trading Company was spared from the aftermath. It collapsed overnight without any clear reasons.

The Dark Shadow Pavilion assumed it had been the Eastern Depot's doing. The tricky part was that even if they pointed fingers at the Eastern Depot, they didn't have a single scrap of proof left behind. 

And right in the middle of all this frustration, a clue with traces of the Imperial Family all over the place popped up out of nowhere, giving them the perfect chance to kick their hunt into high gear.

"I will follow your orders."

The Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord gave a respectful bow and left the Lesser Sun Palace with the letter in hand.

Left alone, Wi Jin-hak closed his eyes and sank into deep thought.

He thought of his Master, who had given him so many teachings throughout the years. And then, he found himself thinking of the sworn brothers he had spent well over a decade in brotherhood, the ones who had died caught up in Deung Bi's schemes.

The moment their faces surfaced in his mind, the black flame that had been quietly burning somewhere deep within Wi Jin-hak's inner world suddenly flared and surged.

The alter ego bearing the name of Heavenly Demon Divine Arts whispered to him. And because the enemy in question was the Imperial Family, the flames roared even fiercer than usual.

Wi Jin-hak watched the blaze for a moment, then barked out a harsh shout.

"Silence!!"

He looked at the other self beyond the flames with an equally burning glare and then lifted his head to look up at the sky, and then his soul was pulled upward.

When Wi Jin-hak opened his eyes and returned from his meditation, the dark hue that had briefly swirled in his irises faded to its original color.

He let out a quiet breath of relief at having successfully suppressed the demonic influence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.

"."

Realizing that dwelling on memories of the sworn he had already lost could set the demonic influence flaring again, Wi Jin-hak consciously steered his thoughts in a more positive direction.

"It was a good call to send the youngest to the Central Plains."

Thinking about how capable his youngest brother was for digging up and sending over such massive intel, a proud smile found its way onto Wi Jin-hak's lips.

***

Meanwhile,  Il-mok was busy filling in the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal on everything that went down back in Pingliang County.

"This sword absorbed the vengeful spirits of over a hundred innocent folks in Pingliang. When I first laid eyes on it, it was oozing with such a thick resentment that I barely even dared to touch it."

"Then why did you hold onto it?"

"I planned to destroy it at first, that's why I kept it with me when I came down the mountain. But then the vengeful souls came to me in a dream."

After explaining everything, including how he had stayed in Pingliang County with the Beggars’ Gang members to soothe those souls, Il-mok added, "Once the common people of Pingliang County were freed from the nightmare of the Butterfly Dream Grass, most of the ghostly energy inside the sword faded away. Being a sword that originally belonged to the Blood Cult, there's still a faint trace of that nasty energy left, but since the souls acknowledged me, handling it isn't an issue."

"I understand the efforts you and the Maitreya Luminous Cult have made. But that doesn't change the fact that it's highly dangerous."

Hearing the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal was practically urging him to destroy the Ascension Sword right then and there, and the sword let out a faint hum in response.

Il-mok gave it a couple of light taps to calm it down and replied, "If we're going to destroy things simply because they're dangerous, then shouldn't every famous Divine Armament in this world be destroyed too? Any weapon that earned a name grand enough to be called a Divine Armament has probably killed hundreds, if not thousands. And besides, this sword is extremely useful when it comes to dealing with the Blood Cult."

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal and everyone else around them looked puzzled, so Il-mok elaborated.

"There was an incident in Lanzhou where the Blood Cult tried to spread a plague."

He explained what had happened then, and followed it up with the events at the Sichuan cave massacre, specifically how he had managed to quickly catch on to the Blood Cult's trap and helped the Flying Dragon Pavilion Lord and Elder Beggar Chaser stop their scheme.

And finally, "Come to think of it, I haven't told you this yet. The Blood Cult is still alive. And that's also something I found out because of this thing."

He went on to describe how he had obtained the portrait of the Jiangshi up on the northern steppe.

After hearing everything Il-mok had to say, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal frowned.

Are you telling me that every single one of us got played for fools by the Blood Cult?"

"That's right. The Beggars’ Gang and Qingcheng are already moving to pick up their trail again. As is the Maitreya Luminous Cult."

"...We can't afford to just be sitting around."

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal turned to Taoist Un-baek.

"I'm heading back to Wudang ahead of you. Stay here for a few days, then make your way back."

"Grandmaster, I'll go with you."

"Don't worry about this old man. You marched a long way to get here, so shouldn't you at least kick back and catch your breath a little?"

"But..."

Seeing Taoist Un-baek's conflicted look, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal returned to his usual gentle smile and teased him.

"What, are you worried this old man has gone senile and will lose his way back to Wudang? Hahaha."

"N-not at all, Grandmaster. How could I ever entertain such a disrespectful thought?"

"Hahaha. Then stop worrying and spend a few days here before heading back."

Taoist Un-baek hesitated for a moment, then clasped his hands in a bow and replied.

"As you wish, Grandmaster."

Having watched their back-and-forth for a moment, Hwangbo Ak jumped in with a booming laugh.

"Hahaha. Our Hwangbo Family also plans to return to Shandong soon. When we do, we'll accompany Taoist Un-baek and stop by Mount Wudang. And, Senior Sword Immortal, since we should probably get word to the clan about the Blood Cult's situation beforehand, do you mind if a few of our juniors tag along with you?"

"Hahaha. I am grateful for the Hwangbo Family Head's consideration."

Taking the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal's answer as a yes, Hwangbo Ak turned and ordered one of his household staff to prepare paper and brush.

He then wrote out a letter to the clan in his characteristically bold handwriting and called over a few of his men.

"Take this letter and head back to the clan ahead of us."

With things more or less settled, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal was the first to clasp his hands toward Il-mok in a farewell bow.

"I'm sorry to be leaving in such a hurry."

"Given the situation, there's nothing to apologize for."

After a brief exchange of parting words, the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal looked at the sword at Il-mok's side with a worried expression and added, "Since you have your own judgment in this, I won't say any more about destroying that sword. But please be careful that it doesn't fall into the hands of the Blood Cult or anyone wicked. That sword would bring a calamity if it ever fell into the wrong hands."

"It might sound arrogant coming from me to a senior like the Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal, but I'm not so easy to take down."

The Supreme Ultimate Sword Immortal studied the masked man for a moment, then gave a nod as if that was answer enough.

He had seen a few of his moves during his spar with Hwangbo Ak.

As the man had said, he was not someone who would let his sword be taken so easily.

***

Since the Maitreya Luminous Cult's scripture hall was a place where disciples were constantly coming and going, Il-mok had arranged for an entire courtesan house affiliated with the Maitreya Luminous Cult to be given over exclusively to their guests.

Inside one of the private rooms of that courtesan house, Hwangbo Ak was having a conversation with his two daughters.

"Father, do you really think of him as a good match for Se-hui?"

Seeing Hwangbo Yeon asking in total disbelief, Hwangbo Ak threw his head back and let out a booming laugh. "To some extent, yes."

"To some extent, meaning how much of it was true?"

"I also had my own reason when I tested him.”

Hearing her father's answer, Hwangbo Yeon found herself recalling something Hwangbo Se-hui had said. "Were you testing whether he was the type of man who could be easily swayed by a woman's beauty?"

"Exactly."

Even though it wasn't a very nice thought for a daughter to have, the phrase 'like father, like daughter' popped right into Hwangbo Yeon's head.

"Then, what were you planning to do if he actually took you up on the offer?"

It was her way of asking whether he had genuinely intended to marry off his most cherished daughter just like that.

"Hmm. Well, I could have used the time between the wedding preparation and the due date to find out whether or not he was truly a decent man. And if there turned out to be no problem, it wouldn't have been a bad outcome either. I could've gotten my hands on Gansu without getting a single drop of blood on them."

"Even if he tied the knot to form an alliance, he didn't strike me as the type to just roll over and do whatever you say, Father."

"Hahaha. Even so, there are rules between a son-in-law and a father-in-law. Do you really think he could just brush off my orders so easily?"

For all his bluster, Hwangbo Ak had his own calculations running behind the scenes.

"But that man didn't seem to have any intention of marrying Se-hui from the start. So I suppose this hypothetical doesn't amount to much."

Hwangbo Ak muttered that with a genuinely wistful look on his face.

It was a strange contrast to how fiercely protective he had always been of Hwangbo Se-hui in the past, and Hwangbo Yeon couldn't hide her puzzlement.

‘Does he really like that man that much?’

Hwangbo Yeon herself had proposed the alliance because she believed the Incarnation of Maitreya was a trustworthy person. But her father had only met the man for the first time today, which made his enthusiasm a little bit baffling.

But this was just a slight misunderstanding. 

Hwangbo Ak wasn't simply looking at the Incarnation of Maitreya as a potential husband for his youngest daughter.

The sudden rise of the Blood Cult and the Maitreya Luminous Cult. The completely unpredictable moves made by the Martial Alliance Leader.

The delicate balance of the martial world that had held strong for decades was being shaken to its core.

Things had even gotten so crazy that the Emei Sect, one of the Nine Great Sects and One Gang, got crushed by the Maitreya Luminous Cult and had to seal off their mountain.

As a guy who had spent his life leading a massive faction, Hwangbo Ak’s intuition was telling him that a violent storm was about to sweep through the vast lake that is the martial world. It will be a storm so huge it would make their recent war with the Blood Cult look like nothing but a children's squabble.

In dangerous times like these, what you needed was a strong and reliable ally.

And in Hwangbo Ak's eyes, the rising star that was the Maitreya Luminous Cult was exactly that.

So much so that he'd wanted to tie them together through marriage to his beloved youngest daughter, to form an alliance that could never be severed.

That had been part of the reason he had pushed so insistently for the sparring match. He had wanted to gauge the real strength of the man calling himself the Incarnation of Maitreya.

‘Heh. I'd been planning to take that mask off him while I was at it, but what a shame.’

Hwangbo Ak had wanted to confirm the true identity of this mysterious master with his own eyes.

To be honest, everything else about the man gave him a good feeling. But there was just one thing that struck him odd.

‘There's no way in hell he's thirty-nine. The level he's at is one thing, but his combat experience seems just as seasoned, which makes it even harder to believe.’

He just couldn't wrap his head around the age of that so-called Incarnation of Maitreya.

‘Maybe he just looks young because of multiple Overhaul Body Transformations. I wouldn't be surprised if he's actually an old geezer right around my age.'

It never even crossed Hwangbo Ak's mind that Il-mok might be a full year younger than  Hwangbo Se-hui.

***

While the Hwangbo Family Head and his daughters were talking things over, Il-mok was having a conversation of his own with his maids.

"Do you really trust them, Young Master?"

Faced with Jin Hayeon's question, Il-mok shook his head and answered. "Deep down, I really hope this alliance holds up until the very end, but I know the odds of that happening are pretty slim."

The alliance could probably hold while they were the Maitreya Luminous Cult, but once their identity as the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult came to light, all hell would break loose.

"Then what are you planning to do going forward?"

Jin Hayeon asked this because she wanted to move in line with his plans, and Il-mok answered her with a cold expression.