Extreme Heaven Conference 2
Shin Gi-woon returned to his quarters and flung himself straight onto the bed. His head was spinning; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't settle down.
Coming back to a quiet private room after so long should have calmed him… like hell it did. He still hadn't figured out the Cult Leader's true intentions.
Why had Cheon Yu recommended him for the Young Leader's seat? Closing his eyes, Shin Gi-woon replayed the conversation from the Cult Leader's hall.
"This doesn't seem like something I should decide. Se-hwa's own will is what matters most."
"I agree."
"Cult Leader. I know I'm overstepping. But speaking coldly, I am nothing more than one of your subordinates. Are you looking at me as a substitute for your daughter?"
It was madness. That wasn't frank counsel — it was outright insolence. He'd flinched a beat too late after the words left his mouth.
But since he'd already gone that far, he decided to push all the way. He'd racked up enough merit that the Cult Leader would probably overlook one crossed line.
"Three years ago, maybe Se-hwa wouldn't have stood a chance — but she's grown considerably stronger by now. She will win the Young Leader contest. Without question."
"You're certain?"
"She's your daughter, Cult Leader. The Heavenly Demon Cheon Yu — the greatest talent since the First Heavenly Demon. If you don't trust your own daughter, then what?"
"Do you truly believe that?"
Cheon Yu's transparent eyes pierced through Shin Gi-woon. It lasted only an instant, yet he felt as though every secret he carried had been stripped bare.
Had he gone too far? But he had no desire to hit the brakes now. He'd already committed to going all out — if he backed down halfway, he'd never be able to speak his mind again.
"Is there some other reason? A purpose behind putting me into the Young Leader contest instead of Se-hwa?"
"There is. I will not explain it. You will understand once you become Young Leader."
"…So there's something I don't know. I will obey your command, Cult Leader."
Shin Gi-woon dropped to one knee in formal respect. Truthfully, he had no intention of refusing. The Young Leader's seat was far too valuable — what idiot would spit out a gift like that?
The problem was Cheon Se-hwa. Would she accept being barred from the Young Leader contest?
She never said it out loud, but she was fiercely competitive. That fire hadn't gone anywhere.
If a woman like her couldn't participate in the Young Leader contest… would she endure it? No — she wouldn't even try.
He didn't know what the unspeakable secret was. But he couldn't learn it now. Meaning it was information only accessible once he entered the Demonic Cult's inner circle of power.
For now, he would step back. And while accepting this order, Shin Gi-woon wanted to make one more demand.
"I need a new group dedicated to hunting Cheongung."
"You're talking about founding a unit?"
"I don't have the capacity to lead a full unit. Nor do I want to. What I want is a single squad."
Its name: the Myeolcheon Squad. A squad that existed solely to pursue Cheongung and crush its ambitions.
Shin Gi-woon wanted the highest authority over all matters related to Cheongung. He was expressing it indirectly.
Cheon Yu considered for a moment, then nodded. At present, no other demonic practitioner knew Cheongung as thoroughly as Shin Gi-woon.
Besides, he had ordered him to enter the Young Leader contest. As Cult Leader, he ought to accept a condition of this magnitude.
"Granted. How do you plan to fill the ranks?"
"I intend to take one person from each unit."
"Is that so."
Sharp as he was, Cheon Yu already knew. He knew exactly who Shin Gi-woon intended to recruit.
The problem was the unit commanders. Would they willingly surrender their talent to the Myeolcheon Squad?
Given Shindogun's nature, permission would come easily. And since the Cult Leader had approved it, Ma Jin-cheon would raise no objections either.
The other two were the issue. But he would be meeting them soon enough — it would work out somehow. More pressing right now was the Young Leader contest, which was making his head throb.
He'd been recommended for a position he never saw coming. In effect, Cheon Yu had already declared Shin Gi-woon the Young Leader.
Could anyone of similar age match him at the Extreme Demon level? No. The closest in skill were Bi So-hyang and Sama Yul.
Barring some massive upheaval, the Young Leader's seat would be his.
"Return to your quarters and rest. There is still ample time until the Extreme Heaven Conference. Do not overexert yourself until then."
"Yes, sir!"
That concluded the conversation with Cheon Yu. Leaving the Cult Leader's hall, Shin Gi-woon went straight back to his quarters and flung himself onto the bed.
"The Young Leader contest… ha."
First, survey the candidates. The Seven Great Sects, namely:
Sword Severing Sect.
Fist Hegemony Sect.
Bow Demon Sect.
Death Demon Sect.
Illusion Flow Sect.
Poison Yin Sect.
Mad Blood Sect.
Each of these seven sects would field one contender for the Young Leader contest.
With Shin Gi-woon's entry, Bi So-hyang, Sama Yul, and Ma Ra-jin had been stripped of their right to compete. New faces would fill those slots.
The sects could raise objections — why should three others be barred just because Shin Gi-woon was entering? But even without him, if Cheon Se-hwa entered the contest…
They would have to shut their mouths like mute fools who'd swallowed honey. No one had the authority to block the Cult Leader's daughter from competing.
"Should I just back out now?"
Back out of what? Try that and the Cult Leader will crush you to death.
"Haah. No matter how I look at it, if I enter the Young Leader contest in place of the Cult Leader's daughter, I'm going to get nothing but massive pushback."
So you're not confident?
"No?"
How could he not be confident? Even if they came at him in a mob, he could kill them all. One of the nice things about the Demonic Cult was that you didn't have to hold back.
The Young Leader contest was basically just Jamma Cave for people whose heads had gotten bigger. Kill or don't kill — on the surface, grudges weren't supposed to matter.
On the surface. People might not say it out loud, but how could you control human emotion?
That was why a Young Leader had to conduct himself carefully. If you weren't confident you could bend everyone to your will, you had to know how to coax and manipulate.
Or deliberately work from the shadows, shrewdly snatching up the good positions.
If Jamma Cave was about survival, the Young Leader contest was a headache of a fight drowning in dirty politics.
Anyway, the fact that he wouldn't know a single face was both disappointing and, in its own way, a relief.
To revisit a point: the Five Stars of Jamma Cave, excluding Shin Gi-woon, all carried the finest bloodlines.
Ma Ra-jin was the blood of Fist Hegemony Sect Master Ma Ra-yun. Sama Yul was the blood of Death Demon Sect Master Sama Hyeok. Bi So-hyang was the blood of Bi Gu-ryung of the Bow Demon Sect. Cheon Se-hwa was the blood of Cult Leader Cheon Yu.
Only Shin Gi-woon had no family backing him. For a moment he found himself impressed that he — armed with nothing but knowledge from his past life — had claimed the top rank of Jamma Cave among such extraordinary bloodlines.
"Ah, my head hurts."
His thoughts tangled naturally, and his head throbbed. Young Leader. If he seized that seat, he wouldn't be able to come and go freely through the martial world.
And then how was he supposed to get his revenge?
"…Should I try making a Spell Release of my own?"
You already have something like a Spell Release. The All-Power Realm.
"True. No need to create the exact same thing."
Even Cheongung didn't know — whether Shin Gi-woon could completely dismantle Spell Release with the All-Power Realm.
Even if one of the other Eleven Armed Generals came charging in right now, all he had to do was counterattack immediately.
Moreover, during Spell Release activation they couldn't mount any offensive. If he exploited that weakness well, he could easily take down even the strong ones.
And there he went, thinking about fighting again. This damned brain of his couldn't string a proper restful thought together even when he tried to rest.
How did people think about nothing? Even sitting still, vague ideas about what he should be doing floated up.
Was this a serious condition? Why couldn't he just stay still?
Maybe it's because you're scatterbrained? Not thinking about anything just means… not thinking.
"That's what I'm asking — how do you do that?"
How can you not do that?
"Haah… forget it."
Ryu-jin had her share of the blame for his inability to empty his mind. With another consciousness living inside his head, how was he supposed to have no thoughts?
"Hey, sometimes I get this thought."
What thought?
"What if I just give up and die? Why do I have to live through this hellish grind?"
Whoa whoa? You know that's early-stage suicidal ideation, right? Stop! No! Don't!
"It's just a thought. Honestly, thinking about it again — dying trapped in that Heavenly Net…"
Still pisses you off when you think about it?
"Yeah. Still pisses me off. I'm not dying until I drive a spear through that bastard Cheol Hwi-hyun's neck."
And after revenge was done? Assuming Cheol Hwi-hyun was connected to Cheongung.
After shattering Cheongung's ambitions? Shin Gi-woon's reason for living would vanish. That was the typical end for people who made revenge their sole purpose.
They never thought about life after revenge, so they couldn't keep living once it was over.
Shin Gi-woon hadn't planned anything for after his revenge either. He'd always lived without plans, but still.
Would becoming Young Leader change things a little? He was about to play Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult — a role that had never been in his stars.
Right. If he became Cult Leader, they wouldn't just let him die. Once revenge was finished, that would generate new goals of its own, wouldn't it?
Think positively. When people started thinking pessimistically, they tended to spiral without end.
"I'm going to sleep."
Night had already grown deep. Seven days and nights remained until the Extreme Heaven Conference.
For the first time in a long while, he could sleep in peace. He planned to melt away his fatigue over those seven days.
