Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: The Demon Hero Restaurant
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A man with his bamboo hat pulled low stepped out of the Heavenly Demon Palace.
He walked straight along the main road before turning into an alley somewhere in the inner castle.
After weaving through several alleys like that, his destination finally appeared before him.
The man glanced up at the signboard for a moment, then fixed his gaze ahead and pushed open the door.
Creak.
The interior seemed perfectly ordinary.
However, there was one key difference from other restaurants.
Only a single table existed there, reserved exclusively for those with prior arrangements.
And already seated at it were a young man and a young woman.
"......"
Gazing at them, the man slowly walked over.
As he joined them between the pair, the two already seated spoke up.
"We pay our respects to the esteemed Cult Leader."
"Have you been well?"
Hyeok Mulin nodded to the greetings from Sima Jin and Cho Sahyeon.
Once seated, Hyeok Mulin remarked,
"This place is pretty decent. Good location too."
"We're glad you think so. We chose it after careful consideration."
Cho Sahyeon smiled faintly.
In truth, this wasn't just any ordinary restaurant.
Though known outwardly as a restaurant, it was actually a new rendezvous point established by the Secret Affairs Hall for clandestine meetings.
A place where one couldn't even enter without a prior reservation for that single table.
What could be more secretive?
Most visitors were Secret Affairs Hall members or allies from the Shadow Fragrance, but occasionally, unrelated parties came for important discussions.
And the information gleaned from those conversations had proven quite useful to the Secret Affairs Hall.
Clack.
A server appeared from somewhere and set down several dishes on the table.
With a quick bow, he quietly vanished.
A scan of his senses confirmed no presences of cooks or servers remained in the restaurant.
They had served the meal and promptly cleared out the kitchen entirely.
"Delicious."
Hyeok Mulin nodded after sampling a few bites.
At his words, Cho Sahyeon smiled and replied,
"We found a pretty skilled chef. These are people working for our cult—shouldn't we at least feed them well? Besides, if the food were bad, no amount of secrecy would draw people here."
With an excellent chef ensuring top-quality dishes, and a discreet server who served and left, creating an atmosphere of perfect confidentiality.
Those seeking secrecy would naturally come to the Demon Hero Restaurant, and siphoning their conversation details was all part of Cho Sahyeon's plan.
Hyeok Mulin urged them to eat before casually conversing over the meal.
"How are preparations for the Demonic Martial God Tournament going?"
Sima Jin answered the question.
"Everything is proceeding smoothly. We've distributed announcements across all of Shin Gang, so by now, nearly every cult member should be aware."
"Ho."
"The tournament arena is also being constructed safely in the northern outer castle, just as you specified before, Cult Leader."
The construction of the tournament arena.
This had been one of the hotly debated topics within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Two options: inner castle or outer castle.
Of the two, Hyeok Mulin had chosen the latter.
'Building it in the outer castle is the optimal choice.'
Constructing anything new in the inner castle was difficult.
Buildings already packed the area densely, so erecting a massive arena would require demolishing dozens of structures.
Moreover, Hyeok Mulin had already considered the additional benefits it would bring.
'It's not just a simple sparring ground. This will bring in massive sums of money.'
One only had to look at the influx of people from across Shin Gang to see the enormous interest in the Demonic Martial God Tournament.
So, what would happen when crowds poured into the outer castle from all directions?
Inns, guesthouses, smithies, clothiers—all sorts of shops would boom.
In that process, Hyeok Mulin thought of the cult members residing in the outer castle.
The inner castle's residents were already well-off, arena or no.
The outer castle was different.
'Plenty struggle to afford meat even once a month.'
Planting an arena there would circulate vast wealth among the locals.
At the very least, those in the northern outer castle would breathe easier.
Even after the tournament ended, it could serve as a tourist draw.
Thus, for the outer castle's sustained growth, Hyeok Mulin had boldly selected the site.
"The Yagul Clan is assisting with nearby facilities."
"They'll make a tidy profit too."
"Yes. We've promised them half the revenue. They must think it's still a great deal."
"Tell them to avoid excessive monopolies. The cult stays healthy only if benefits reach the outer castle residents."
"Understood."
After issuing the directive, Hyeok Mulin posed another question.
"How far along is the construction?"
"Over halfway."
"Ho. Already half."
It was several times faster than expected.
"Yes. On the Great Military Strategist's orders, the Demon Scripture Pavilion compiled a list of the cult's renowned architects and mobilized them all to accelerate the work."
Sima Geuk was supporting the arena's construction on all fronts.
To the point where its funding took top priority from cult coffers.
This showed just how forceful the Great Military Strategist's backing was.
"Smooth sailing. Nothing more to direct."
Satisfied, Hyeok Mulin turned to Cho Sahyeon with a slight smile.
"Hall Leader Cho. What's the Central Plains' reaction since the tournament announcement?"
"We've confirmed an emergency meeting convened by the Murim Alliance, centered on the Heavenly Firmament Immortal. It wasn't time for another gathering so soon after the last, so they likely recalled everyone upon learning of the tournament."
Her intelligence network had improved vastly in both quality and quantity lately.
She'd once handled only Secret Affairs Hall intel, but now the Demon Scripture Pavilion provided everything related upon request.
Another major advancement under the Great Military Strategist's guidance.
'As expected.'
The Demonic Martial God Tournament wasn't aimed at the Murim Alliance.
But with the long history of wars between the cult and the orthodox sects, they couldn't help but watch our every move closely.
"The Four Black Coalitions are acting suspiciously too. They were aggressively probing orthodox territories before, but since the announcement, they've pulled back slightly and seem to be increasing surveillance on us."
Her report boiled down to both the Murim Alliance and Four Black Coalitions showing intense interest in the Demonic Martial God Tournament.
An expected outcome.
But what could they do about it?
This was the cult's festival.
Not something for the distant Central Plains to meddle in lightly.
No issue there.
"Any recent moves from the Cheon Clan?"
"Family members are still coming and going actively, but the patriarch hasn't been seen lately."
"The patriarch's absent......"
"Yes. He might be staying within the clan, but we can't rule out secluded training."
Secluded training.
Hyeok Mulin recalled the last time he'd seen Cheon Jungak.
'Quite the ambition.'
Already a formidable powerhouse, yet aiming even higher.
He sensed the man's immense obsession with martial arts.
But it didn't bother him.
Since Cheon Jungak held him in high regard, he'd entered seclusion to refine his skills further.
Had he underestimated him, there'd be no such preparations.
'A warrior of that caliber going into full seclusion.'
Wonder what he'll bring back.
But it was fine.
Such actions were well within what Hyeok Mulin had anticipated.
More importantly...
"What's the Gu Clan's situation?"
The cornerstone of the Seven Great Demon Clans.
The ancient dragon lurking deep beneath the surface.
The Gu Clan's movements were what Hyeok Mulin watched most closely.
"They've definitely heard about the tournament, but show no reaction. They might skip it altogether."
"As expected."
His prediction confirmed, Hyeok Mulin nodded.
The Gu Clan, doors barred, never venturing out.
Their absence was positive news for him.
Clashing with them at the tournament now would be premature.
"You've all worked hard. Let's push a bit more until the tournament concludes safely."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Hyeok Mulin filled his cup with water and downed it lightly.
Liquor later.
After the tournament ended safely.
Creeeak—
"Who knows how long it's been since I last came here."
Entering the Heavenly Martial Hall, Hyeok Mulin wore a nostalgic smile.
This was the place he'd spent the most time in since regressing, yet lately, he'd had no chance to visit.
He hadn't even left the Heavenly Demon Palace for quite a while, let alone come here.
After a detour to Sichuan, he'd gone to the Thousand-Year Prison, then returned to Shin Gang only to head straight to the Demon God Realm.
'Must be over a year.'
Yet despite his long absence, not a speck of dust marred the hall's floors.
Jang Wi had kept it spotless daily, anticipating Hyeok Mulin's return at any moment.
'Thanks.'
Thanks to that, stepping onto the gleaming floor brought Hyeok Mulin back to his beginnings.
"Brings back memories of the start."
When his foundation was weak, he'd run laps on the training ground to build stamina first.
Combining that with stress on his upper and lower body to temper external arts.
Recalling those days, Hyeok Mulin's body began to move slowly.
He dashed using his movement technique, then wove in footwork while executing martial forms.
Hyeok Mulin sequentially demonstrated fist techniques, palm strikes, finger jabs, claw methods, and kicks.
And finally...
Shing—
He drew the Heaven-Splitting Demon Sword and leisurely traced lines through the air.
Focusing solely on the motion, Hyeok Mulin soon entered a state of no-mind.
As if unbound by the world's flow.
Thus, time slipped by unnoticed.
Until the sun dawned bright on the day of the Demonic Martial God Tournament.