Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Assassination Request
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That short phrase held no small meaning.
Ordinary assassins typically targeted marks on their own level.
Taking on too many low-grade commissions would gradually lower their standing, while too many high-grade ones increased the failure rate, causing clients to shy away.
Thus, assassins sought out targets matching their own weight class before setting out on their kills—though exceptions always existed.
Even sizable assassin guilds often turned down requests on renowned martial artists of the world.
For instance, commissions targeting the Nine Great Sects and Six Great Clans of the Central Plains, or the clan patriarchs and sect leaders of the Seven Great Demon Clans and demonic sects in the New Frontier, were almost universally rejected.
This was out of fear for the backlash and retaliation that would follow, even if the kill succeeded.
But the Heavenly Demon? Of all things?
Did anyone under heaven even exist who didn't grasp the significance of that name?
Yet there it was, plainly listed in the ledger before their eyes: Hyeok Mulin, Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
And not just any ledger, but one from the Black Darkness Pavilion, one of the Three Great Assassins.
"Request accepted."
This simple statement carried layers of meaning, but boiled down to two main points.
First, the Black Darkness Pavilion believed they could assassinate the Heavenly Demon, so they took the job.
Assassins weren't mindless moths hurling themselves into flames without regard for their lives.
They had weighed the Heavenly Demon's martial prowess, status, lair, and the protectors and guards surrounding him.
Even accounting for the risks, they deemed success probable enough to proceed.
Second, the client had offered compensation befitting a Heavenly Demon hit.
Not just some rich fool with deep pockets.
For the Three Great Assassins to accept after assessing the dangers, the client's reputation alone had to be trustworthy collateral.
It could be a clan, a sect, a pavilion, or an individual—no one knew their exact identity yet.
One thing was certain: this client possessed the prestige and rewards worthy of the unprecedented Heavenly Demon assassination request.
'Interesting.'
When Hyeok Mulin first laid eyes on the ledger, he felt no fear at someone gunning for his life.
Instead, he curled his lips in satisfaction.
To be targeted by assassins—no, by the Three Great Assassins, no less.
Didn't that mean he'd become a genuine threat in someone's eyes?
In his previous life, Hyeok Mulin had never faced anything like this.
Back then, as a mere figurehead, no one had ever bothered to check him.
But now was different.
This request made it real: gazes of wariness toward him were growing, both within the cult and across the Central Plains.
And Hyeok Mulin welcomed it.
It was only natural for a true Cult Leader to face such trials.
Not everyone shared his view, though.
"To dare lay a hand on the Cult Leader's person..."
Unlike Hyeok Mulin, the target of the request, Sima Jin's heart burned with rage.
'What ferocity.'
Sima Jin wasn't untrained in martial arts, but he couldn't be counted among the New Frontier's top fighters.
While others honed only their kung fu, he had delved into formations, military tactics, and a broad array of scholarly pursuits.
He hadn't even sensed the Black Night's presence lurking in Hyeok Mulin's shadow just moments ago.
In pure martial might, he lagged behind Jang Wi, not to mention most of the Martial Force Unit captains.
Yet right now, his aura cut sharper than any warrior under heaven.
Just standing there, he exuded a prickling killing intent that made hairs stand on end, circling those around him.
It stemmed from his uncontrollable fury and murderous urge over the assassination plot against his lord.
"Give me four days—no, three. I'll uncover the mastermind, by any means necessary."
Deep down, he knew it.
Tracking the client behind the Black Darkness Pavilion was next to impossible.
But his rage had overridden reason; he saw nothing else.
As he spoke in a subdued tone, Hyeok Mulin replied lightly.
"Calm yourself. You know as well as I do—the client can't be traced."
"...Even so."
"Black Night said it: once they accept a request, they erase all contact and methods with the client."
On his way to the Heavenly Demon Palace, Hyeok Mulin had informed Black Night of the discovery.
The man had shaken his head, declaring reverse-tracking impossible.
Once accepted, they severed all ties to the client at the root.
"...You're right. Only the Three Great Assassins could pull that off."
No fool would stiff the Three Great Assassins on payment, evidence or not.
Dodging the bill would make them the next target.
"Hah, to think we can't touch these blasphemous curs at all."
Sima Jin let out a deep sigh of frustration.
Hyeok Mulin chuckled softly.
"Not quite. They've already taken a hit."
"What do you...?"
As Sima Jin stared in confusion, Hyeok Mulin elaborated.
"The Black Darkness Pavilion's annihilation serves as a warning to whoever requested my head."
The outside world might see it as mere fallout from a clash with the Kill Pavilion, but the client would sense otherwise.
Right after placing the Heavenly Demon hit, their assassins got wiped out—they'd assume the Cult Leader caught wind and used the Kill Pavilion to crush them.
Why?
The war between the Kill Pavilion and Black Darkness Pavilion had been too sudden, too out of nowhere.
And the deep grudge held by the Kill Pavilion's Pavilion Master? Only Hyeok Mulin knew that truth in the current world.
"Don't worry about it. Even if they go to ground for a while, they'll have to show their tail eventually."
"Understood."
"However."
Tap.
Hyeok Mulin's fingers, idly drumming the armrest, paused.
"I'll tell you the location of the Black Darkness Pavilion's base. Dispatch an investigation team."
After the battle, Hyeok Mulin had only grabbed the most obvious ledger amid the chaos—he hadn't checked much else.
Black Night's wounds had been worse than expected, so escaping the annex for treatment took priority.
Still, it warranted a second look.
A group as prestigious as one of the Three Great Assassins wouldn't hide just ledgers.
"There, you'll surely find the Black Darkness Pavilion's hidden funds."
"The Cult Leader was right."
Sima Jin, handling duties in the Pure Heaven Pavilion, suddenly spoke up.
In his hand was the investigation team's report.
"Results from the Black Darkness Pavilion probe are in. We recovered all their hidden funds. Black Night played a major role, apparently."
Sima Jin had assembled a discreet team of trusted agents, borrowing Black Night's hand at the end.
As one who had reached the pinnacle of assassination, he figured Black Night could best read the mindset of fellow Three Great Assassins.
And his judgment proved spot on.
No one else on the team found the stash, but Black Night sniffed out the assassin's traces and located it instantly.
It was right under a pond near the annex.
Once they drained the pond as Black Night indicated and dug up the earth, the hidden funds surfaced.
"An enormous sum. For a single assassin group to hoard that much wealth... honestly, it surprised me a bit."
"I see."
Hyeok Mulin, unlike him, wasn't fazed.
The outcome matched his expectations perfectly.
People clung to all sorts of beliefs.
Groups were no different, and the Three Great Assassins each followed wildly divergent paths.
The Death Soul Pavilion took only jobs that profited them directly, while the Kill Pavilion targeted only those branded as villains.
The Black Darkness Pavilion's creed was equally clear-cut.
They accepted any request they could succeed on, without discrimination.
Any job that paid well, no matter the mark—that voracious approach had amassed them a fortune despite their short history.
"This amount could buy a merchant guild in the top ten—not just in the New Frontier, but across the world."
It dwarfed the gains from wiping out the Blade Sword Sect before.
"Our coffers are flush now."
The recovered Black Darkness funds weren't for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's use.
Since it came from Hyeok Mulin's covert outing, all the wealth stayed firmly in his grasp.
"What do you plan to do with all this money, Cult Leader?"
Sima Jin had already brainstormed multiple uses.
Acquire a new merchant guild, expand the Martial Force Unit.
Invest in the Yagul Clan's ventures, or prop up the Hyeok Clan for faster recovery.
Or hold it in reserve for flexibility in future crises.
He envisioned endless possibilities, but Hyeok Mulin's idea was something he hadn't remotely anticipated.
"I already have plans."
I'll show you.
How money breeds more money.