Extreme Heaven Meeting 3
A full week had passed. It had been a long-overdue stretch of genuine rest. Today was the day the Extreme Heaven Meeting began.
With every Extreme Demon expert in the Cult converging on Guangming Palace, all five of its units went on high alert, senses stretched taut.
Of course, the odds of an Extreme Demon actually falling into danger were slim. Still, the heightened security was an annual ritual—preparation for the unthinkable.
Under normal circumstances Shin Gi-woon would have been part of that guard detail. He would have been, that is, if he had not already reached the Extreme Demon realm and earned the right to attend the meeting itself.
And so he made his way toward the venue. The Cult Leader’s Hall was reserved exclusively for the Heavenly Demon; the Extreme Heaven Meeting was held elsewhere. The place opened only once a year for this single gathering.
Wuncheon Hall.
“So this is the inside.”
Last year, the year before, three years ago—Shin Gi-woon had always patrolled the perimeter as security. Stepping through the doors was a first.
Beyond those doors lay the true heart of the Demonic Cult: the sole place where every Extreme Demon expert assembled.
He was still looking around when a voice called out.
“Face I don’t recognize. New blood?”
The speaker was a formidable expert, built like a bear.
“Ah—Shin Gi-woon of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad.”
“Shin Gi-woon? Ah, the kid Dogun brags about every time he opens his mouth. Good to meet you. Yeom Gyeong-hong, commander of the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps.”
Yeom Gyeong-hong, Lord of the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps—the Flame King.
Among the experts of Guangming Palace he ranked second only to Ma Jin-cheon, and he led the Cult’s strongest combat unit. Of everyone Gi-woon had hoped to meet at this gathering, the Flame King had topped the list. He had not expected the encounter so soon.
“An honor to meet the commander of the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps.”
“I’ve heard plenty about you, but already Extreme Demon… impressive. Fancy transferring to my unit?”
“Hey now, hyung. You can’t just poach someone else’s man right in front of me. Has the code of the martial world fallen that low?”
Just as Yeom Gyeong-hong extended the offer, Shindogun appeared out of nowhere and slung an arm around Gi-woon’s shoulders.
It had been a while since Gi-woon had seen his superior. The moment a subordinate looked ready to accept a transfer, the man materialized like a ghost.
The shoulder-to-shoulder pose was clearly meant to advertise ownership. Yeom Gyeong-hong clicked his tongue.
“You bastard. Does that face of yours change every other second?”
“Want me to teach you, hyung? Comes in handy against enemies.”
“No need. If I’m going to deceive someone, I’d rather just cave their skull in with my fist.”
As he spoke, Yeom Gyeong-hong clenched a massive hand. Looking at that frame alone, one could believe he had tempered his external arts until he could literally tear a man in half.
Perhaps that was the bare minimum required to lead the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps. Shindogun shook his head at the sight.
“Aigoo, how is anyone supposed to live around that? Gi-woon, this is the man who jumps straight to ‘I’ll cave your head in’ instead of just saying he’ll kill you. Can you imagine what his unit’s like?”
“Starting with slander against another unit already? Want me to list every single mess you caused while you were still under me?”
“Come on, hyung, that’s ancient history. Let’s just let it go!”
Shindogun thumped the broad expanse of Yeom Gyeong-hong’s back. Come to think of it, Shindogun had founded the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad only after being appointed its commander. Before that he had belonged to the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps. Yeom Gyeong-hong must have been a decent superior; otherwise Shindogun would never act so familiar.
Then another voice cut in.
“You’re Shin Gi-woon?”
“Holy—! How many times do I have to tell you to make some noise when you walk?!”
“Shut it. I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Uh… and you are?”
“Look at that rotten temper. No wonder she’s the commander of the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps—creepy as hell.”
“Keep yapping and I’ll plant a needle cluster in your dantian. Close your mouth.”
In the middle of the not-quite-argument between Yeom Gyeong-hong and Shindogun, a woman in black robes simply appeared. Her attire screamed assassin; Shindogun’s reaction only confirmed it.
She shot Shindogun a glare, then turned and introduced herself.
“Sama Rin, commander of the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps. Yul’s aunt. I’ve heard a lot about you… and you’re even more than I imagined. Extreme Demon already.”
“Shin Gi-woon. An honor to meet you, Aunt.”
Her identity was clear: Sama Rin, the Black Tiger Kill, commander of the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps.
With her arrival, Gi-woon had now met every unit commander under Guangming Palace.
Shindogun of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad, Ma Jin-cheon of the Guangming Guard, Yeom Gyeong-hong of the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps, Sama Rin of the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps.
(The Heavenly Net Black Web Corps currently operated without a commander, so it was excluded.)
The real power brokers of Guangming Palace—while the Cult Leader remained absent—were gathered in one place. The Extreme Heaven Meeting suddenly felt very close.
“Weren’t you still in Liaoning last I heard? When did you get in?”
“I’m not enough of an idiot to forget the date of the Extreme Heaven Meeting. Word is you arrived only a shichen ago?”
“Had a few drinks last night and lost track of time! Haha!”
“This is the kind of bastard who leads a unit. How about it? You’ve got a friend here—come over to the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps.”
“Hey! First hyung, now you? Don’t even think about snatching my precious talent. Shoo, shoo!”
Shindogun was like a cat with its fur standing on end, determined to keep Gi-woon in his own unit no matter what.
Gi-woon understood the feeling. His mission success rate was a perfect ten out of ten; the word “failure” simply did not exist for him. Of course the man would treasure him. On top of that, he had already reached Extreme Demon. Who knew when he might form his own unit and leave?
Shindogun would milk every last drop of value until then. Of course, Gi-woon had already spoken with the Cult Leader about other arrangements—something Shindogun did not know.
“Commander of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad, Commander of the Black Kill Ghost Shadow Corps, Commander of the Hellfire Demon Emperor Corps, and Lord Shin Gi-woon. Identities confirmed. Please enter the hall.”
“Let’s go, my little lucky charm!”
“Commander, the arm around the shoulder can stop n—”
“Win-win for everyone! We’re going in just like this!”
Amazingly, Shindogun still had his arm locked around Gi-woon’s shoulders. It was starting to feel a little much.
The moment they stepped inside, Gi-woon understood why. Fierce auras stabbed at him from every direction—no, from every single angle. All of them were aimed squarely at him. Shindogun’s casual shoulder-to-shoulder pose was actually dispersing the pressure.
The playful smile had already vanished from the man’s face.
“Be careful. Not everyone here likes the look of you. In the upper ranks of the Cult, a lot of fighting goes on in the shadows where no one sees.”
“Commander…”
“You’re a variable. Youngest Extreme Demon isn’t some ordinary title. Plenty of people will have their eyes on you. To protect yourself, you need to show off every connection you’ve got. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Shindogun gradually released the hold. Only then did Gi-woon grasp why the other two commanders had lingered outside chatting with him. They had been trying, in their own way, to prop up his presence—manufacturing even the thinnest of ties so the pressure waiting inside would be a fraction lighter.
No wonder they lead entire units.
It was the behavior of true commanders. They did not dismiss him as belonging to another squad; they quietly backed him as a fellow member of Guangming Palace.
They were not bad people. Even so, Gi-woon did not drop his suspicion. Anyone could be a spy. Two-faced people were hardly rare. Shindogun was one thing, but Yeom Gyeong-hong and Sama Rin were strangers he had met only today. There was no room to lower his guard.
After entering the hall he stayed with the commanders for a short while, then they parted ways. Each of them had their own business inside; they could not hover at his side forever.
Overprotecting him would only draw more jackals anyway.
This isn’t even enemy territory, yet the place is a complete mess.
The Demonic Cult lived by the rule of the strong. All submitted to the Heavenly Demon, but beneath that single absolute, everything else was equal. The doctrine itself held the Heavenly Demon as the sole divinity. Titles like Law Protector, unit commander, or deputy commander were little more than empty shells.
The strong did as they pleased. That was the Demonic Cult.
It felt like standing in the middle of a battlefield. The unrestrained killing intent alone made him wonder how any organization this chaotic could still function.
A new thought struck him: without the Heavenly Demon, would the Demonic Cult not simply destroy itself?
The Heavenly Demon was the only force that could hold together people of such wildly different convictions. Remove that figure and the Cult would fracture into a dozen pieces.
Now he understood why the Young Leader’s seat was not passed down by blood. If it had been… even a daughter of the Cult Leader would have grown up under endless checks and schemes. She could never have developed properly.
Se-hwa herself had already lived a childhood different from everyone else’s simply because she carried the Cult Leader’s blood. Things were bad enough as they were; a hereditary succession would have been far worse.
In short: five minutes from total chaos. That was the only impression Shin Gi-woon carried into the Extreme Heaven Meeting before it even began.
[Looks worse than I expected.]
I’ve got a feeling this Extreme Heaven Meeting is going to drag on longer than usual.
Every topic on the agenda was massive. And with this many short-tempered experts in one room, he could already picture the fireworks without even trying.
Then a new voice approached.
“Hmm? So you’re the youngest Extreme Demon?”
“…And you are?”
“You don’t know me? Bold little thing.”
Someone had walked up looking for a fight. A quick probe of the man’s aura put him at early Extreme Demon.
The type who got off on bullying anyone younger than himself, maybe. Gi-woon disliked him on sight. The blunt reply came out naturally.
“Guangming Palace doesn’t have people like you.”
“What did you just say?”
The man’s eyebrows twisted. Apparently the single sentence had struck a nerve. Without even pretending to hold back, he poured out killing intent.
“You little shit dare mock me?”
“So who exactly are you?”
“You bastard…!”
“If you’re going to fight, take it outside.”
Just as the man was about to draw his sword, someone calmly pressed down on his hand and stopped the situation from exploding.
Gi-woon looked at the mediator’s face.
There you are.
The man who had intervened was the sect leader of the Geom-dan Sect—one of the upper ranks among the Seven Great Sects.
Dan Ju-hyeong.