Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon - The Heavens Dare Not Show Their Face
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In the rattling carriage.
The thick dawn air wafted in.
"Geum-gang. Remember? Clinging to this big sister's bosom, crying 'it's scary, it's scary.'"
Hee Yeon giggled as she teased Geum-gang relentlessly.
"Shut up. Shut up!"
"Why? I could hug you again."
She figured it was payback for all the times Geum-gang had messed with her.
Geum-gang felt like she could die of embarrassment.
To let her emotions overwhelm her and do something like that...
'What am I, a kid?!'
Clinging to her chest and bawling her eyes out!
Her bosom had been soft, sure, but...
"If it gets tough again, I'll hug you."
Hee Yeon leaned in once more, grinning cheekily.
"Shut up..."
Geum-gang whipped her head away to stare outside, but Hee Yeon caught sight of her flushed cheeks.
Near Cheon-bong Peak.
As befitting the cult's grandest event, a massive crowd had gathered.
Not just cultists, but warriors from the Ice Palace and the southern barbarians—scattered forces from beyond the borders—mingled in as well.
Inn and tavern stalls bustled like a marketplace in the heart of the Central Plains.
"Young travelers, enjoy some pleasures before you go!"
"Dumplings! Get your dumplings here!"
Unlike Hee Yeon, who wandered about as if it were familiar ground, Geum-gang finally felt like she had entered the martial world.
"Whew, almost late. So many people."
"Yeah. Makes me wanna grab some green leaf tea and noodles."
"Geum-gang, you drink?"
"No. But it feels like we should."
The girls wandered the streets, chatting idly.
The Right Envoy had said he'd signal when the time came.
In the months they'd observed him—dressed like a beggar and acting carefree—he'd never lied.
There had to be a reason.
Geum-gang and Hee Yeon roamed about, waiting for that sign.
About two hours passed like that.
Then, from afar, a pure energy rose, drawing the crowd in waves.
"The Cult Leader's here!"
"The Sacred Fire Festival's closing rite is starting! Pack up, folks, and gather!"
Merchants folding their signs and wandering warriors alike packed up and rushed toward the altar at Cheon-bong's center.
"Geum-gang. Let's go."
"Yeah."
The Sacred Fire Festival—its finale was beginning.
She was far off, but Geum-gang knew for sure.
"It's the Cult Leader."
The exact same as the one she'd seen before.
Those weary eyes.
The one who exuded dominion from every inch of her being.
That profound inner energy, pure beyond belief for a demonic cultivator.
So lofty that not even a hint of negative emotion could be sensed.
The Cult Leader appeared at the altar, flanked by her two Dharma Protectors.
Both wore similar masks, lending them an air of mystery.
The white-haired Left Dharma Protector and the deep blue-haired Right.
They seemed even more devoted to the divine than the roguish Left and Right Envoys.
With a single gesture, she silenced the noisy crowd, then intoned clearly.
"Is everyone gathered? Heavenly Demon's Return."
"Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Reverence—!"
"Indeed."
Her voice overwhelmed every cultist present.
Heavenly Demon's Return, Ten Thousand Demons in Submission.
It might seem like mere recitation of doctrine, but to an outsider, it was utterly arrogant and irreverent.
'As if the Heavenly Demon isn't already here...!'
Those who followed the Heavenly Demon might think so, but the Cult Leader casually denied the Heavenly Demon's existence.
To engrave it deep in the cultists' subconscious.
With that declaration, violet radiance poured from her body.
Every warrior could feel it.
'This profound inner energy...!'
The realm she had attained.
Beyond Absolute Peak—the Harmony Realm.
In other words, Ultimate Demon.
The pinnacle for any demonic cultivator.
"The Cult Leader has truly reached Ultimate Demon..."
Hee Yeon gazed at her with eyes full of awe.
The warrior she'd aspired to be, whom she still revered.
But terrifying to know that scheme targeted her.
"The time has come to contain the sacred flame. Those who passed the initiation rite, ascend the altar."
At her gesture, warriors appeared one by one.
Roughly fourteen in total.
"Hey, it's Mok-hyeon!"
Dam-mok Hyeon—still slightly swollen-faced—and the warriors from whom Hee Yeon had taken their plaques were there.
Each seemed to have been assigned a post, shoulders tense with pride.
The Cult Leader chuckled softly.
They must have looked utterly adorable.
"You shall face opponents to prove your nothingness..."
As she moved to proceed, a familiar voice rang out for Geum-gang and Hee Yeon.
"Hold on, Cult Leader."
"Hm?"
Silken robes flowing like water, hair neatly braided up.
A clean-shaven face without a trace of stubble.
The Right Envoy stood atop the altar's pillar, utterly unlike his usual self.
"Right Envoy. That's insolence. Come down."
"What? I am the Sunset Glow Right Envoy. Isn't this my place?"
The Right Envoy spoke with uncharacteristic formality.
'Hee Yeon, that guy's actually speaking properly?'
'Yeah. He's lost it.'
Having traded glares with the Cult Leader, the Right Envoy leaped lightly from the pillar.
"Cult Leader, we're skipping procedure now?"
"What are you talking about, Right Envoy?"
"Once initiation ends, one meets the Heavenly Demon. How could you start without that step?"
His probing tone would irk anyone, but the Cult Leader merely shrugged.
"What can I do when the Heavenly Demon refuses?"
The Cult Leader jested as if she'd foreseen it all.
And indeed, the Heavenly Demon had refused.
"Right Envoy. This is the sacred Sacred Fire Festival. Even you can't overstep like this."
The Cult Leader saw this as a chance to bind him completely.
As the Right Envoy passed by her side, he stomped hard.
"Quiet."
'Eat this, Cult Leader.'
"Hear me, cultists...! It's the Heavenly Demon Decree!"
All cultists, hear this.
One thousand twenty-seven days have passed since the new heaven opened.
No more Dharma Protectors are needed in heaven.
The old and worn shall step down.
Behold, I shall appoint new apostles to the new heaven.
The two girls chosen by the Cult Leader and offered to me,
I now accept as my apostles.
They shall prove their martial prowess.
"What...!"
Heavenly Demon Decree.
The Heavenly Demon—the cult's symbol, its very reason for being.
No matter how fallen, its authority was beyond imagination.
Especially after years without one.
Every cultist prostrated instantly, awaiting the Right Envoy's words.
His words were now the Heavenly Demon's.
All focused intently.
"Right Envoy...!"
The Cult Leader stared at him with her impassive face, but he read the displeasure beneath.
'Did you forge the Heavenly Demon Decree?'
'I gave it a shot too. Not bad, eh?'
Hee Yeon couldn't believe it.
The drunkard Right Envoy had such cunning?
'What the hell is this?'
Geum-gang didn't get it either, but kind Hee Yeon shook her and explained.
"Geum-gang, this is our chance. A chance to prove ourselves. The Right Envoy flipped the board."
From the Cult Leader's puppets to heaven-chosen apostles.
From a position doomed to shame to a sacred stage of martial proof.
With this many cultists, she couldn't openly defy the Heavenly Demon's authority.
"Mister...!"
The Right Envoy—a smarter beggar than she'd thought.
"Sunset Glow Right Envoy Baek Mu-heun hereby steps down from his post and returns to being a wanderer, per the Heavenly Demon's command. Radiant Light Left Envoy Ha Jin shall withdraw alongside. Those who would prove their martial prowess before heaven! Step forward!"
Radiant Light Left Envoy Ha Jin.
Hearing the name she longed for made Geum-gang's heart surge, but she held it back.
Look at that dignified bearing.
Where had the beggar gone?
"Hee Yeon. Let's go!"
"Yes!"
The two girls strode out through the prostrating cultists.
The Cult Leader's face twisted slightly—or was it her imagination?
Either way, the Right Envoy was beaming.
'How's that? I can do it too.'
'Half of what Master could do, maybe.'
'Don't push it. No one's expecting much. Just a little... a little is enough.'
Guess the Right Envoy—no, Baek Mu-heun now—was indeed her master's friend.
Saying the exact same things.
'Don't push yourself, kid.'
'Yes, Master. But...'
"Hee Yeon, we can do this."
"Of course."
Hee Yeon wiped her sword clean, her innocent face belying a murderous glint in her eyes.
South Piercing Sword Flower, my ass.
South Piercing Sword Ghost fit better.
When the girls stood before the dais, the Cult Leader couldn't hide her displeasure.
'Tch... ruined.'
Outwardly, though, she still radiated lofty aura.
"Hm. So heaven has finally spoken. How will you prove your martial prowess? Name your opponents."
Listen to that sarcasm.
'Geum-gang. Got a plan? Dad said to go big and bold for stuff like this.'
'I'll handle it. You won't regret it.'
'You're making me nervous...'
Geum-gang tensed her core.
Everyone had to hear.
Louder than anyone, as loud as possible.
So every cultist here could hear.
So her distant master could hear.
Mok-hyeon, you kept yapping about your gramps, huh?
"Eighth Elder—!"
Come out with your grandpa.
'If you're gonna do it, do it right. Like the Heavenly Robe Sect ancestors.'
'Yes, Master!'
"Geum-gang...!"
"W-what?!"
Even the Cult Leader stared in shock.
Every cultist wore the same expression.
Hee Yeon glanced at Mu-heun, wondering if he'd planned this, but even he looked floored.
"That crazy little bitch...!"
"We shall prove our martial prowess—!"
Geum-gang called out her most hated foe.
The one who'd tormented her sleepless.
Ruined her meals!
Time for a thrashing.
No thought of enduring like against the group leader for recognition, or of losing.
She would win. No question.
"Hee Yeon. Let's go!"
"Ahh... aaack!"
She yanked at her hair, but the water was spilled.
Hee Yeon ground her teeth, regretting handing Geum-gang the choice.