Extreme Heaven Meeting 6
“I have listened carefully to your words, Cult Leader. May I offer a word of my own?”
“Proceed.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
While the assembly still reeled in shock, the woman with the slit-like eyes rose to her feet. She had once been the sect leader of the Hwanryu Sect, if memory served.
An Extreme Demon expert who hid every flicker of emotion behind a perpetual smile.
The Hwanryu Sect researched every form of spellcraft within the Demonic Cult; its mistress was a woman who carried countless secrets. The moment she claimed the floor, every gaze locked onto her. Hyeon So-so, the slit-eyed woman, fixed her attention on Shin Gi-woon.
“Shin Gi-woon… I shall address you as Young Master. Is that acceptable?”
“It is.”
“Then allow me to ask. When the Myeolcheon Squad is formed, by what method do you intend to run it? Speak concretely.”
Hyeon So-so fluttered her fan, concealing the corner of her mouth. Only the curve of her eyes remained visible as she regarded him—an expression that somehow sent a chill crawling down the spine. Shin Gi-woon, however, refused to flinch. If this was a test, he would take it head-on.
“The Myeolcheon Squad exists for one purpose alone: the destruction of Cheongung. It will take orders from no one belonging to the Seven Great Sects or Guangming Palace. The one who issues commands will be the Cult Leader. The one who receives reports will also be the Cult Leader.”
“And further?”
“The squad will number five. I intend to fill it with the most trustworthy experts I know. The minimum requirement I am considering is the Transcendent realm.”
“Young Master Shin. A Transcendent expert stands on the same level as the sect masters of the martial world. That is not a force you can simply wave about as you please.”
“The roster of the Myeolcheon Squad is secret. Sect Leader, and every other senior present, must already have sensed it—I am strong. I am the youngest Extreme Demon expert within the Cult.”
Shin Gi-woon continued to press his case without pause. Had a single person in this hall ever imagined someone so young reaching the Extreme Demon realm? Had they not just witnessed the brawl that erupted right here in Wuncheon Hall? The world they knew and the world he knew were not the same.
So trust me and leave it in my hands. I will take full responsibility. I will eradicate Cheongung within three years.
“—That is my vow. As for operational plans? The annihilation of Cheongung. That is the entirety of it. And of course we will also have to root out the Cheongung spies already planted inside the Cult.”
“Spies inside the Cult? Did we not already expose the former squad leader Lee Hyeong-seop?”
“That was only the beginning. Who is to say a traitor who sold out the Cult is not sitting among us even now?”
As Shin Gi-woon spoke those words, one corner of his mouth curled upward. The experts filling the hall reacted with open displeasure. Small wonder—Shin Gi-woon had barely reached the age of twenty, and now this boy was questioning their loyalty to the Cult. No one could feel kindly toward that.
Yet Hyeon So-so merely nodded without the slightest change of expression and reseated herself. She was a clever woman. She could have dug deeper, yet she chose to end her questioning. Through their exchange she had grasped his true intent, and at the same time a new thought had taken root: perhaps a Cheongung spy truly did sit inside this very chamber. If so, there was no further reason to pry into the Myeolcheon Squad.
In the end it looked as though Shin Gi-woon had launched a broadside provocation and Hyeon So-so had taken a single step back.
The next right to speak fell to Shindogun. He rose without preamble and clasped his fists in salute.
“I will begin by apologizing to the supreme experts of our Cult. This friend Gi-woon of mine is a little rough around the edges and never bothers to hide what he thinks. So yes, his manner can be an eyesore at times. Still, he is not a man who speaks empty words.”
“Squad Leader…”
“Though he is the sort who measures every word of his squad leader against his own interests and ignores anything that does not match… he is equally the sort who finishes every mission he is given.”
“…Squad Leader?”
“Even if he has no manners on ordinary days, once a task is assigned he handles it without—”
“My apologies. If anyone else has something to say, please go first.”
“Mmmph! Mmmphhh!!”
Unable to listen any longer, Yeom Gyeong-hong clamped Shindogun’s mouth shut and forced him back into his seat. Whether the man had been insulting his own subordinate or defending him was anyone’s guess. Shindogun’s eccentric behavior was nothing new, so the assembly simply accepted it as natural and let the discussion move on. Next came the Geomdan Sect Leader.
“I will speak a word.”
The Geomdan Sect Leader looked down at Shin Gi-woon with transparent eyes. Shin Gi-woon did not look away.
Dan Ju-hyeong was a spy who had sold himself to Cheongung. There was no way to prove it in this chamber. Until they stormed the Geomdan Sect itself and secured evidence, he could not afford any action that would invite suspicion.
“The roster is secret… the method of operation is secret… fine excuses, yet should you not speak more concretely?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I agree that Cheongung is a dangerous force. But if the threat is truly that great, would it not be better to create an entirely new unit rather than a mere squad?”
Dan Ju-hyeong’s point was sound. Honestly, Shin Gi-woon himself agreed with the logic. Yet he had no confidence in leading a full unit—more precisely, he simply did not want to.
Cheongung was a parasite that had sunk its roots into every corner of the martial world. Deploy a large unit to dig it out? The moment they caught wind of it they would simply burrow deeper. The only way was the smallest possible force cutting them out as swiftly as possible.
That was Shin Gi-woon’s conviction. Most of those present, however, did not share it. After all, the Cult Leader himself had declared Cheongung’s power to be vast.
“A unit would also be a fine method. But a unit has its problems.”
“What problems?”
“Its movements are too large. Facing them with a small elite squad is far more effective than with a numerous unit. And there is one decisive reason a unit must not be used.”
The problem was the spell arts.
When a Transcendent expert opened their spell arts, any half-trained force would be swept away. To prevent that, only a handful of people who already understood those arts could be allowed to confront Cheongung.
Of course Shin Gi-woon kept that particular truth locked behind sealed lips. Dan Ju-hyeong tilted his head.
“And what reason is that?”
“Cheongung wields an unprecedented power. I already told you—there may be spies in this very room. I will say no more.”
“Now see here—”
“Enough. We will leave this subject here.”
Just as Dan Ju-hyeong was about to press further, Cheon Yu cut in and forcibly ended the exchange. Unable to contradict the Cult Leader, Dan Ju-hyeong sat back down. For the briefest instant his eyes clouded with anxiety.
With that, Shin Gi-woon became utterly certain that Dan Ju-hyeong was a Cheongung spy. The others in the hall were curious about what Gi-woon had left unsaid, yet the Cult Leader himself had stepped in to silence the matter. That meant the secret was known only to the Cult Leader and a bare handful of others.
Dan Ju-hyeong’s gaze flicked rapidly about the room. First it landed on Shindogun—who clearly knew nothing. That was the end of it. If even the leader of his own squad was ignorant, no one else could possibly know.
A secret shared only by the Cult Leader and Shin Gi-woon. For Dan Ju-hyeong, that alone was enough. The power Gi-woon spoke of had to be the spell arts. The claim that the Eleventh Martial General had fallen to them had not been a lie; even Dan Ju-hyeong himself had struggled against the Eleventh Martial General once those arts were unleashed.
Conversely, if one opened one’s own spell arts one could devour another’s—yet Shin Gi-woon, who possessed none, had killed the Eleventh Martial General… and without a single visible internal or external wound. Perhaps Gi-woon himself harbored some exceptional power akin to the spell arts.
Dan Ju-hyeong’s mind filled with every wild conjecture imaginable, even as the Cult Leader’s words continued without pause.
“That concludes discussion of the Myeolcheon Squad. Anyone who still harbors doubts may visit the Cult Leader’s hall after this meeting ends. I would prefer you bring your weapons as well.”
Bring weapons—in other words, enter prepared to fight. Silence settled over the assembly. The atmosphere had cooled several degrees. If the mood had dropped this far, it was time to move on to the greatest topic of all.
“Let us speak of the Young Leader Contest. Great Law Protector.”
“Yes.”
The Young Leader Contest.
The instant those words left the Cult Leader’s mouth, every eye in the hall fixed upon Ma Jin-cheon. He cleared his throat once, then proceeded to explain the rules of this year’s contest. They were essentially the same as the previous year’s, continuing through to the end. He then recited the names of those who, over the past year, had toured the various sects and families and declared their intention to enter the contest.
Naturally, the final name was—
“Shin Gi-woon.”
“…!”
“…!”
“These are all the participants in this year’s Young Leader Contest.”
“W-wait just a moment! The Cult Leader’s own daughter has withdrawn, and yet you grant entry to the man who will head the Myeolcheon Squad that is about to be formed?!”
“There are Jamma Cave graduates who abandoned the Young Leader Contest precisely because the Cult Leader’s daughter was entering!”
Outcries erupted. As it was, Shin Gi-woon’s generation from Jamma Cave had produced many talented experts—yet every last one of them had been barred from participation because of Cheon Se-hwa’s entry into the contest. Or so they had believed. Now, instead of Cheon Se-hwa’s name, Shin Gi-woon’s had been called. It was blatant favoritism.
Even the experts of Guangming Palace rose in unprecedented protest.
Shin Gi-woon kept his mouth shut like a mute who had swallowed honey. Stay quiet and half the battle is already won. And since they say the beginning is half the whole… if only the Cult Leader would speak—
“Silence.”
—it would be perfect.
At the Cult Leader’s single word every mouth closed. Cheon Yu’s brows arched ever so slightly. A rare display of anger.
“Anyone may enter the Young Leader Contest. If you have objections, settle them with strength. My daughter has withdrawn, and Shin Gi-woon is an Extreme Demon expert. Does anyone disagree?”
Win a life-or-death duel against Shin Gi-woon, and then you may enter the Young Leader Contest.
Cheon Yu had phrased it in a roundabout way, and in the end the agenda item simply faded away without further dispute.