Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Transcendent Pinnacle
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“Nine Dragons Branch Family’s oath of loyalty!”
“You’ve truly obtained the Mad Gale, just as you desired.”
“The Mad Gale will serve as an excellent vanguard to establish the new Divine Cult!”
“We offer our congratulations, Little Cult Leader!”
“We offer our congratulations!!”
“We offer our congratulations!!”
The wraiths raised their clasped hands in unison, shouting as one.
The faces of the ones I had picked up from the North Sea Emperor grew even paler.
“To end up like this... I still couldn’t believe it...!”
“The Little Heavenly Demon has truly returned to life. With the Mad Gale as his wings. Then all our schemes, struggling in vain until now—”
“Ahh! Sect Leader—”
They had been shocked enough that I, whom they thought dead, was alive. But now they were stunned by the sheer scale of the undertakings unfolding in secret for the revival of the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan.
It must have been hard to imagine that the Mad Gale Division, the Divine Cult’s longtime archenemy, would become the vanguard of a new Divine Cult.
Even I felt a swell of pride at finally establishing myself firmly as a true member of the Tang Clan. Yet at the same time, a strange feeling stirred within me.
How could I put this emotion into words?
Was it the fact that I, who had no family besides my master, now had a new one?
The satisfaction of drawing one step closer to revenge?
The sense of accomplishment as the revival of the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan began to take shape?
Of course, I felt all those things.
But this was something far more fundamental...
I dismissed all the warriors.
I was deeply grateful for their voluntary oaths of loyalty, but relieving their fatigue from the battle took priority.
Moreover, I wanted to properly figure out this indescribable emotion.
So, left alone in the room, I brooded in quiet contemplation when suddenly one of the North Sea Sect’s wraiths lunged forward.
“Little Heavenly Demon!”
Its eyes blazed with fury, whites completely rolled back in rage.
Its face had turned utterly monstrous, jagged teeth like saw blades snapping toward my throat.
It was radiating vital energy wildly, its accumulated grudge beyond limits transforming it fully into a vengeful spirit.
Normally, getting caught by something like that meant you’d either die instantly or be said to have been cursed.
Of course, for a Ghost King like me to fall to a mere wraith would be utterly humiliating.
Ching!
The iron chains whipped around rapidly, yanking the restraints binding its neck and limbs.
Snap! Snap!
The vengeful spirit’s teeth gnashed futilely at empty air, just an inch short.
“Th-this bastard, suddenly!”
“You wretch! What do you think this place is, some safe haven?!”
“Are you tired of living?!”
The fifteen guardians managing it rushed forward, and the other wraiths swiftly subdued the vengeful spirit, pinning it down by force. A beating soon followed.
Thud! Thud thud!
But even amid the excruciating pain, the vengeful spirit only burned its grudge against me brighter.
“Little Heavenly Demon! You! You’re a traitor!”
Among the things I’d heard from the North Sea Sect’s ice ghosts, this was the funniest.
I smiled faintly and asked,
“I’m a traitor?”
“That’s right!!”
“Why?”
“You were the Little Heavenly Demon, weren’t you! But look at you now! As the one meant to lead the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s future, you’ve abandoned all sense of duty, pride, self-respect—everything!!”
The wraiths’ faces turned ashen.
“This fool, running its mouth!”
“Little Cult Leader, ignore this madman’s ravings! It’ll rot your ears! We’ll handle it our—”
“Stand back.”
“But!”
“Aren’t you curious what nonsense it’ll spout next? Let’s hear it out.”
The wraiths hesitated for a moment before stepping back reluctantly.
The vengeful spirit, still bound at the limbs and sprawled like a flattened frog, lifted only its head.
“The Tang Clan! The Mad Gale Division was our enemy! The enemy that repeatedly thwarted our dreams of advancing into the Central Plains!! The vanguard of the Central Plains that abandoned us!!”
“That’s true.”
“And yet here you are, Little Heavenly Demon, bowing your head to that Tang Clan of your own accord, licking their soles, and proclaiming yourself their loyal hound! Refusing to act as master of the Mad Gale Division! To them, who bear the grudges of a hundred thousand demons!!”
“...”
“And blinded by petty revenge, you ignore the vital essence of those hundred thousand demons and sell your soul like a treacherous—”
“So that’s it.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Listening quietly to the vengeful spirit’s ravings, I finally understood the ‘unease’ lingering in a corner of my heart.
Right after reincarnating, my top priorities were reviving the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan and restoring the Divine Cult.
I was prepared to exploit anything and everything I could.
But living as a Tang Clan member changed that.
A ‘conscience’ had reared its head, telling me I could no longer treat them with such pretense.
The Mad Gale Division had sworn genuine loyalty to me.
Yet here I was, fixated solely on the Divine Cult’s revival over their honor?
Even planning to use them as expendable troops for it?
Wasn’t that just mocking and deceiving their sincerity?
But say what I would, I was ultimately the Little Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The Mad Gale Division was the Divine Cult’s ancient foe.
Handing my heart to them—how would that be seen by the future faithful?
Even by the ancestors and spirits watching from the heavens.
In the end... I had been doing wrong by the Divine Cult, the Tang Clan, the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan, and the Mad Gale Division alike.
Realizing what I’d only vaguely sensed in my heart cleared my mind.
It felt liberating.
“Yeah. You might be right.”
“Then!”
“But I’ve changed my mind. Do you remember what your master said before the Tang Clan Leader?”
“What—”
“‘The Divine Cult is different. Even if filled with past grudges, if it aids us today and in the future to come, we embrace even enemies without discrimination. Unlike you, who treat all that differs from you as barbarians and reject them.’”
“!”
“Spot on. A heretic, yet nailing the core of the Divine Cult’s truth.”
“Y-you—”
“The Divine Cult is a haven for the forsaken. A paradise built for them to rise again. That’s why it’s called demonic. And the Mad Gale Division... has been abandoned by the world too.”
That was why I was drawn to the Mad Gale Division.
Why I empathized with their plight.
“Is there anything wrong with embracing that Mad Gale, leading it to resurgence, guided by the Divine Cult’s teachings?”
“!!!”
“Correcting the Divine Cult’s flaws and fixing the Central Plains’ misconceptions about it—that’s why I was able to reincarnate, and my new mission.”
The vengeful spirit’s face flushed crimson.
“Twisting words like—”
Crunch!
The chains tightened further, twisting its head away.
In its place, a soul orb remained, reduced to powder.
“I’ll walk my own path. Only I get to question it—not the likes of you.”
I rose slowly from my seat.
The North Sea Sect wraiths glared at me with grudge-filled eyes but couldn’t meet my gaze, heads bowed.
The Heavenly Demon Tyrant Heart Technique surged stronger than ever.
The Three Stages pulsed in unison, resonating deeply with it.
The Heavenly Demon Tyrant Heart Technique was a discipline for mastering the heart.
With the worry that had wavered my resolve now resolved, its attainment deepened further.
Whoooong!
Whoooosh—
The breeze swirling around me merged with my intent, gaining even greater momentum.
Now, at my will, this breeze could instantly become a gale, or a sword gale, or even a demonic gale.
It was proof that the nine-stage Heavenly Demon Tyrant Heart Technique had entered the second stage, and a sign that I had finally reached the Transcendent Pinnacle.
“Heavenly Demon’s Supremacy, Hundred Demons Rise in Reverence! Congratulations on your attainment!!”
“Heavenly Demon’s Supremacy, Hundred Demons Rise in Reverence! We offer our congratulations!!”
I had ascended to the higher realm I desired, yet I felt oddly calm.
A feeling that it was only natural.
Rather, for the mission I had awakened to, it felt like I had only reached the starting point.
I turned my gaze out the window.
My senses, far sharper and broader than in my mortal days, pierced beyond the skies.
I sensed Onma’s spiritual presence.
“Onma, where is he?”
“He alighted in a certain thatched hut just moments ago.”
I had already anticipated the North Sea Sect Leader’s resurrection attempt and secretly assigned Onma to tail him.
Would those who perfected the Soul Possession Ice Body Great Law not prepare some grand ritual for their own revival?
The North Sea Sect Leader might have been deluded into thinking himself a saint bearing all the burdens of the faithful in a march of hardship.
But to me, he was just a typical petty coward terrified of defeat and death.
That’s why I let Dark Venerable execute him without interference.
Meddling in a clash of supreme experts would only hinder, and invite Dark Venerable’s suspicion.
I also needed the North Sea Sect Leader’s soul secretly, so I waited patiently.
For him to complete the Soul Severance River Art Great Law!
And now, it seemed all processes were finished.
At last, the true time of harvest had arrived.
“Before heading there, I have a question for you all—”
I sneered at the North Sea Sect wraiths.
“When you met your meaningless deaths, your sect leader prioritized his own survival over saving you, right? What do you make of that?”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...The, the Sect Leader is the, the proxy of the gods. So for the great cause, it’s only natural he survives, and our martyrdom lays the foundation for—”
Most remained silent, while a few fervently defended the North Sea Sect Leader’s choice.
But even they couldn’t hide their wavering eyes.
That was answer enough.
“No matter what you think, remember one thing.”
I summoned the Ghost King’s Full Armor, draping it over my body.
My unbound hair gradually turned white.
“A leader is one who guides. And protects.”
“!!”
“!!”
“!!”
“The night breeze is quite chilly.”
I grumbled lightly as I leaped out the window.
In one hand, I held a lion mask to conceal my face.
The mask I’d used in Dosung-hyeon to save the faithful while hiding my identity, and to impersonate the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan’s Sect Leader.
This time was no different.
Now, I was not the Mad Gale Division’s master or the Nine Dragons Branch Family’s young branch leader.
I was the Sect Leader of the Dark Demon Divine Revival Clan.