Heavenly Mountain Incident 4
"A report, Cult Leader. A great number of personnel from the Sado Alliance are on the move."
"Is that so."
"What are your orders?"
Cheon Yu lifted his gaze to the sky, his face heavy with worry. He had never expected them to sit still. Cheongung would begin to move soon enough.
But a force he had not anticipated had stirred instead. The Sado Alliance.
The coalition of the unorthodox path — the faction led by Hegemon Sovereign Nak Cheong-su, one of the Twin Stars, One Sovereign, One Demon.
He hoped it was an independent action, entirely unrelated to Cheongung. But if it was not—
If this mass mobilization served Cheongung's purpose—
If their design was to draw the Heavenly Demon out of Cheon-san, then seize that opening to soak the mountain in blood—the worst possibility refused to leave his mind.
"What is the Right Law Protector's counsel?"
And so Cheon Yu sought the opinion of his subordinate. Great Law Protector Ma Jin-cheon was both the head of the Ma clan and the commander of the Guangming Guard, with Guangming Palace under his charge. The Right and Left Law Protectors, however, were different.
Though they too belonged to bloodline-succession houses, they were not considered part of Guangming Palace itself.
The current Right Law Protector was the head of the Baek clan — Baek Gun-jeong, who fulfilled that office.
"I… believe we must step beyond Cheon-san."
"Why?"
"If Cheongung's design is to strike at our Cult the moment Your Lordship leaves his seat… then we ought to play along."
"Walk willingly into a board the enemy has laid?"
"Yes. Frankly speaking — if the Sado Alliance forces march on Cheon-san itself, what then? The situation will only grow worse."
Interpreted, Baek Gun-jeong's meaning was plain: they were enemies they would have to fight regardless, so there was no reason to let them reach the inner courtyard. Strike first, at a moment they did not expect, and claim the best possible result.
That was what he was saying. Cheon Yu agreed, to a point. But if midway the Sado Alliance forces wheeled about and withdrew to their own stronghold—
"If that comes to pass, we will have gained nothing at all, will we not?"
"Speak honestly, Cult Leader. You intend to remain in Guangming Palace, do you not?"
"I cannot say otherwise. Should some unforeseen variable arise, must I not be here?"
If the threat was coming either way — was it not better to fight on familiar ground, accepting some measure of damage, than to be struck down like a fool who never saw it coming?
Even so, the bare minimum of preparation had to be completed.
"Send word to every sect and every house. This shall be a Cult Leader's Decree."
"Command us!!"
"Prepare for war. Our objective is the annihilation of the Sado Alliance. I will accept no refusal of this order. Muster every elite belonging to each faction and place them on combat footing without a moment's delay."
"This servant, Baek Gun-jeong, receives the Heavenly Demon's command!!"
Baek Gun-jeong clasped his fists in salute and withdrew from the Cult Leader's hall. The Alliance Lord of the Sado Alliance was coming. The Great Demonic War could already be considered underway.
They would be the ones forced to weather the first blow — but the Divine Cult was never soft. Strike them, and they would repay it twofold.
"Alliance Lord Nak. You chose the wrong side."
First, eliminate the greatest enemy within — Geom-dan Sect Leader Dan Ju-hyeong — completely, and tear out Cheongung's roots. Then erase the Sado Alliance from this world. A murderous aura coiled around Cheon Yu's body, then scattered into nothing.
Whoosh—!
Yeom Gyeong-hong wreathed his entire body in flame. It was his exclusive martial art — the Red Flame Advancing Wheel Art.
"Number One, take the front. Number Three, support Number One and me from the rear."
At Shin Gi-woon's command, the three of them moved as one. Yeom Gyeong-hong merely walked toward him, step by measured step — still not assuming any conspicuous attack stance.
It was hot. The mere release of his aura was enough to parch the throat. This was the power of the Flame Demon Emperor Corps Commander.
Shin Gi-woon did not take his eyes off Yeom Gyeong-hong's movements for even an instant. The moment anything changed, he would step in himself.
There was no need to order a pointless charge. A leader's position meant never treating one's allies as expendable. If he ordered Ma Ra-jin to rush in now—
Assuming this were a real battle, not even bone fragments would remain.
Then it happened.
Whirrr—!
Yeom Gyeong-hong's form vanished — and in the next breath he was behind Shin Gi-woon, swinging a massive fist at his head.
His eyes could not keep up. But his body, sensing the killing intent that closed in, automatically locked into a defensive stance.
BOOOOM!
"Kh—!"
Barely catching the blow on the White Fang Spear, Shin Gi-woon was driven back a full thirty feet. And it was not over. Riding the rebound, Yeom Gyeong-hong charged at him like a yaksha.
Flame and protective aura coiled around the man's body. He meant to crush him by sheer collision.
Shin Gi-woon discarded the foolish option of simply blocking. The instant Yeom Gyeong-hong closed to point-blank range, he slipped free of the spot with a technique of form-and-position exchange.
"Fire!"
At Shin Gi-woon's signal, Bi So-hyang loosed arrows and Sama Yul poured out a volley of throwing blades.
But the opponent was an Extreme Demon-level master — and the commander of the Flame Demon Emperor Corps, a man who had tempered external arts to their absolute limit. Neither arrows nor hidden weapons could pierce those thick muscles.
"Number One!"
At Shin Gi-woon's order, Ma Ra-jin barreled toward Yeom Gyeong-hong. For all his bulk, standing before Yeom Gyeong-hong he looked no larger than an ordinary man.
"Haaaah!"
Ma Ra-jin drove a fist at Yeom Gyeong-hong's solar plexus. He too was a Peak-level expert who had trained external arts — and so Yeom Gyeong-hong did not take the blow recklessly, stepping back a single pace instead. In that opening, Shin Gi-woon closed on him like a shot.
"Huuup—!"
He poured the inner force of the Battle Demon Divine Art into the White Fang Spear and swept the shaft across Yeom Gyeong-hong's right flank.
It was the fourth form of the Battle Demon Heavenly Spear, laced with the principles of weight-amplification technique — Trajectory Strike Binding.
Trajectory Strike Binding
"Kh—!"
Damage that ignored protective aura and drove straight through. For a single moment, Yeom Gyeong-hong reeled. Because Shin Gi-woon had come at him with genuine intent to kill.
He had no intention of going easy — but a wrong judgment here could well lead to defeat.
"Is that all you've got!!"
Yeom Gyeong-hong clenched his teeth and immediately threw a punch at Shin Gi-woon. Shin Gi-woon bent his waist with fluid ease, slipped the blow, and opened distance in a flash.
Yeom Gyeong-hong pursued. The arrows and throwing blades that came flying from afar inflicted no damage on him whatsoever.
Ma Ra-jin was outmatched not only in external arts but in realm itself — a gap that could not be crossed. He could be ignored.
Fear settled in the eyes of the other candidates watching Yeom Gyeong-hong's one-man rampage.
No matter how they looked at it, four people were nowhere near enough to face a single Corps Commander.
Of course, Shin Gi-woon had also chosen poorly. Objectively speaking, Yeom Gyeong-hong was the most difficult opponent in this entire trial.
With limited numbers, facing a master of external arts — and one a full tier above them — was not a normal approach.
Without power enough to punch through external arts outright, one would need force emission at the very least… and against someone of a higher realm, that was hardly possible.
Shin Gi-woon had landed one lucky strike, but from that point on he was being dragged around by Yeom Gyeong-hong. The instructors meant to assist him were nearly useless.
Hidden weapons and arrows had not so much as scratched Yeom Gyeong-hong.
CRAAASH!
Barely dodging Yeom Gyeong-hong's fist, Shin Gi-woon found his entire body already soaked in sweat.
Bi So-hyang and Sama Yul were of no help. In a real battle they would have joined the fight properly — but they were support only.
Any further intervention was forbidden. Ma Ra-jin was useful enough, yet at critical moments he became more hindrance than help.
If I just open the All-Power Realm…
He could flip disadvantage into advantage in a single stroke — but there were too many eyes. And he had no desire to display the All-Power Realm with Dan Jung-ho present.
"If this is all you've got, I'm disappointed."
"You're just too strong, Commander!"
"Boring."
Yeom Gyeong-hong kept attacking as he spoke. Not a demand for focus — a demand for full power.
Shin Gi-woon was fighting hard enough, but he was not giving everything. Their internal energy might be roughly comparable, but in total demonic qi and control, Yeom Gyeong-hong held the clear edge.
The result was nothing but continuous retreat. A passing grade looked far out of reach. Did he truly have to unleash the All-Power Realm?
No. I won't.
Shin Gi-woon's eyes changed as the decision settled. And the change began with his actions.
Shhhhk—!
Having done nothing but defend, Shin Gi-woon suddenly drove into a tiny gap between attacks and struck.
"Where do you think—!"
THOOOM!
Of course the ambush failed. The instant the spear tip was about to pierce his abdomen, Yeom Gyeong-hong kicked the White Fang Spear away hard with his knee.
Shin Gi-woon released the spear, clenched his fist, and drove it at Yeom Gyeong-hong's heart.
"Huuup—!"
BOOOOM!
Yeom Gyeong-hong hastily crossed both arms and blocked the punch. But it was not over. The fist had been a feint.
The spear, spinning furiously in the air, came crashing down on him. Spear controlled by intent.
Slash—!
"Kh—!"
Flesh was cut. A fraction slower and his wrist might have been severed clean through.
Shin Gi-woon did not stop. The moment the spear buried itself in the ground, he wrenched it free and drove it at Yeom Gyeong-hong's throat.
BOOM!
Yeom Gyeong-hong tilted his head and slipped the thrust. A length of his long hair was sheared off and fluttered to the floor.
Shin Gi-woon did not let the opening go. With a true step he projected the pressure of the Battle Demon Divine Art forward—
And compressed the art's force into the White Fang Spear to its absolute maximum.
Kiiiiing—!
Secret technique—!
Ghost Star Absolute Void Strike
SHHHRRAAAK!
He unleashed the secret technique of the Battle Demon Heavenly Spear straight at Yeom Gyeong-hong's face.
Yeom Gyeong-hong caught the White Fang Spear's blade with his right hand and barely stopped it. The spear, having punched through his protective aura, left a deep gash across his palm—
And came to a halt right before his eyes.
"…Pass."
He could not possibly refuse to call it a pass. Shin Gi-woon withdrew his spear and bowed his head to Yeom Gyeong-hong.
In that final instant, both men had pulled their power. Yeom Gyeong-hong had blocked the spear with his right hand while condensing flame in his left, ready to strike.
Had they gone through to the end, mutual destruction would have been certain — and so not a single person raised any objection to the result.