165. Blood Cult Leader (1)
In this world of Murim Return, there are far too many madmen.
The Divine Cultists are obsessed with strength, and the righteous folk of the central plains are obsessed with grand causes and justifications.
But if you asked me who the craziest of them all were, I wouldn't hesitate for a second.
The Blood Cultists.
The Blood Cult has just one goal.
To unleash a blood apocalypse and drown the world in blood.
They believe it's the only way to purify this flawed, chaotic realm.
And once that pristine world arrives, their worshipped Blood God—the First Heavenly Demon—will return.
The Blood Cult Leader is the vessel for that Blood God's reincarnation.
That's what Jin So-cheong was telling me: that I was the Blood Cult Leader.
Good thing I'd sent Sa Wol and Tak Horak far enough away that they couldn't hear us.
From the Divine Cult's perspective, the Blood Cult felt like some cheap knockoff—close enough to unsettle you, but not the real deal.
"You didn't even flinch. So you already knew everything."
Of course not.
I've just been through so many absurd situations that nothing fazes me anymore.
Hell, I was confident I wouldn't so much as swallow if a blade came at my throat right then.
Instead, I narrowed my eyes, stared her down, and bought time to sort my thoughts.
Jin So-cheong had called me the Blood Cult Leader. So how should I play this?
Acting all flustered would be like kicking away a gift-wrapped pumpkin.
The Blood Cult worshipped the Blood Demon.
According to the Muhonjibyeok, the Blood Demon's true identity was the First Heavenly Demon.
The First Heavenly Demon was a hero of chaotic times.
Even from what I'd pieced together, he'd worn countless aliases—Yao Xian, Three Pleasures Blade City, Leaf Scholar, Blood Demon, and more. A man of staggering versatility.
The total opposite of me.
[Yokai.]
Pa Cheon chimed in.
[What is it about that grad student of yours that let the First Heavenly Demon achieve such feats? Were you some kind of king in your old world?]
...Well... we're the kind who gaze up from the very bottom to the very top.
[How noble.]
I couldn't exactly tell Pa Cheon that failing to publish meant becoming slave-adjacent.
If I'd gone back home, my thesis would've passed, right?
Otherwise, I'd have to pray for my advisor's soul.
My mind wandered for a second, but anyway.
With that kind of legend, hordes of fanatics must have trailed after him.
No matter how I slice it, calling him the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons or the fact they operate like a religion... the Divine Cult and Blood Cult must share the same roots.
If that was true, there was only one attitude I needed for Jin So-cheong.
I smirked and said, "You dare hold your head high before me? Craving the blade?"
"A most righteous decree, of course."
Jin So-cheong bowed her head.
Bullseye.
If the Divine Cult and Blood Cult sprang from the same source, their vibes would overlap.
Might makes right.
And from what I remember of the Blood Cult Leader in , theirs was even harsher than the Divine Cult's.
The Divine Cult at least had some semblance of honor. The Blood Cult? Cross them, and your head rolls. True villains, through and through.
"However."
Jin So-cheong continued.
"It is not yet confirmed."
"Not confirmed?"
"In my joy, I spoke hastily. Your current status places you merely as one candidate among several for Blood Cult Leader."
Yeah, something had felt off.
She'd called me the reincarnated Blood Cult Leader, but the original story had a different one—a lunatic who strutted around calling himself the Blood Demon.
"As you know, the Blood God hid fragments of his power across the world, under many names."
[The Muhonjibyeok.]
Pa Cheon murmured low. I was thinking the same.
"...You're talking about the Wall of Demonless Traces."
"As expected. I thought you'd know. It's the greatest of those traces, after all—Yao Xian."
Now it made sense how the Blood Cult, with no central hub or major forces, churned out so many elites.
The Divine Cultists were clueless about the Muhonjibyeok's true nature, but the Blood Cult knew.
Ah, right. The Heavenly Demon Bloodline Purge.
That must've severed the lineage. Once the true heritage of the Heavenly Demon was lost, knowledge of the Muhonjibyeok faded too.
"Thus, aside from you, two more candidates remain."
The system clicked.
Like shareholders voting for a CEO based on stock—the one inheriting the most of the Blood God's (First Heavenly Demon's) legacy becomes Blood Cult Leader.
...So where did that leave me?
"Who are the other two?"
"Before that."
Jin So-cheong held something out. A heavy object wrapped in silk brocade.
"I felt it. Days ago, on that day of heavenly portent when the energies converged. The thick scent of the Blood God's power. Ah, such ecstasy! A force so vast and pure in its purification!"
Her face remained elegant, but madness gleamed in her eyes.
"That's what convinced me you were a candidate for Blood Cult Leader. Claiming Yao Xian's lineage might be false, but that power of the Blood God was real. Though even that could be my delusion. Isn't it?"
"So?"
"Prove it."
She unwrapped the silk, revealing what lay inside.
[Cloud Demon Iron.]
With eyes still glittering, Jin So-cheong said, "If you are truly a candidate vessel for the Blood God, the Blood Demon's energy will dwell within. Prove it."
To them, the Blood Demon's energy meant the Heavenly Demon's power—the Heavenly Demon Divine Art surging in my blood.
Without hesitation, I drew my dagger, sliced my palm, and let the blood drip onto the Cloud Demon Iron.
The instant it did—
Clunk, clunk, clunk!
The fragments crumpled and folded wildly, forming a shape.
"A divine relic! To change so swiftly and precisely... something no one has ever done!"
I couldn't help but chuckle.
The form it took was all too familiar to me.
Song Yang Geon would be drooling.
It was a pistol. Even someone clueless about guns would recognize it on sight in the modern world.
The First Heavenly Demon had left quite the mark.
King of All Diseases struts around calling it a gun technique, and he actually made one.
Among countless martial arts, the mightiest had to be the gun way.
Even a super peak master dies with a bullet to the gut.
...Nah. Super peaks would dodge it.
They dodge point-blank shots to the forehead.
Maybe a super peak gun master could win?
"The relic takes perfect form...!"
Jin So-cheong's babbling snapped me out of it.
I picked up the Cloud Demon Iron pistol.
Sleek and precise. It could pass for a normal handgun at a glance.
I'd seen enough to rack the slide and fiddle with the trigger. Each motion drew awed "oohs" from Jin So-cheong.
I aimed it at her.
"Ooh! You know how to wield the relic!"
...She had no clue what it was. Aiming the barrel at her, and she just beamed with rapture. The shape had been passed down, but not its purpose.
[What is this thing?]
First Heavenly Demon's souvenir. But it's just a model.
No instructions included.
I pulled the trigger.
Fwoosh!
"F-Fire! Fire from the relic! The purifying flames of the Blood God! The blood apocalypse walks with it!"
A small flame licked from the barrel—not a massive inferno like her hysterics suggested, but perfect for lighting a cigarette.
It was a pistol-shaped lighter.
The First Heavenly Demon seemed like a riot. If I ever got back to the modern world, I'd ask what possessed him to waste precious Cloud Demon Iron on a lighter.
That aside.
Having seen fire from the relic, Jin So-cheong prostrated herself and slammed her forehead to the ground.
"Forgive my insolence! The others are all decayed fakes! You—no, Lord Cult Leader—are the true master of the blood apocalypse, the vessel of the Blood God!"
Thud, thud. Her forehead split, blood trickling down. Yet she showed no sign of stopping.
Normally I'd tell her to quit, but I just watched with cold eyes.
[What's your game?]
They're nuts, but they're not wrong.
In this Murim Return world, I'm the only legitimate heir claiming the First Heavenly Demon's legacy.
I'd accidentally become his alias collector, but facts are facts.
I was the perfect fit for Blood Cult Leader. Not that I'd ever start a blood apocalypse—war means I die first.
As if the Blood God would reincarnate. The fake Blood Demon got diced by Yi Se-ryeong.
Still, I could use this.
The Blood Cult lurks everywhere in the murim.
Paeng Yu-gun mentioned them outright—they're like a spiderweb, threads in every corner, subtle and tight-knit.
Pretending to be their leader lets me tap that infrastructure. The Blood Cult's more authoritarian and hierarchical than the Divine Cult.
That's public opinion on a platter.
[Too risky. They're a demonic cult. The First Heavenly Demon never ordered a blood apocalypse. These maniacs twist his words— and you want to lead them?]
Risk means reward in this world. And it won't change much from now.
Thud! Thud!
While I pondered, Jin So-cheong kept smashing her forehead.
Forget insolence—ruin that face, and it's a problem.
"Enough."
"Your boundless mercy—"
"Next time."
I feigned ruthlessness.
"Next time you know your sin, don't smash your forehead. Uproot the tongue that spoke blasphemy."
"...!"
I'd meant it as a warning.
But.
Her blood-smeared face trembled—not in pain.
Anyone could see it was rapture, pure ecstasy.
"I shall engrave it, nay, double-engrave it upon my soul!"
"... "
[...]
I'd underestimated Blood Cult fanaticism.
Scrap the plan?
Pretending to be the Heavenly Demon