Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Young Master of the Demonic Cult
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The highest mountain on the continent, Sky Mountain, was infamous for its year-round blizzards. After the White Dragon Crokshu settled on one of its peaks and declared it his domain, that notoriety only grew.
Over the past five hundred years, not a single soul who climbed Sky Mountain had returned alive.
Buried alive in blizzards, frozen solid, or torn apart after catching the dragon's eye—no one escaped death within Sky Mountain's clutches.
The Knight of the Wind, Jamie, set foot upon that very mountain, bearing his lord's solemn command to slay Crokshu.
But no one anticipated his survival. Not even the lord who had issued the order.
Sky Mountain: climbers aplenty, but none who came back down.
Bravely, the Knight of the Wind, Jamie, ascended Sky Mountain. And one hundred days later, So Gun-ak, Young Master of the Eternal Divine Cult, descended from the peak.
Have you ever heard the saying that a person can change overnight?
Now, that story is about to begin.
1. Young Master of the Demonic Cult
The Eternal Divine Cult.
Though it bore the name of a divine cult, the righteous factions had long branded it a demonic one. It was the union of the four great powers: the Bright Cult, Fire Worship Cult, Blood Cult, and Secret Cult.
To maintain balance among the factions, the selection of the Cult Leader was conducted with impartiality across all four. Each faction would nominate one prodigy, totaling four candidates for the position.
The Cult Leader would impartially teach them martial arts, and the most outstanding among them would become the next Leader.
The four factions of the Divine Cult poured every effort into producing a Leader from their own ranks. They selected a hundred prodigies from childhood, trained them relentlessly in martial arts, and chose the finest as their candidate.
The remaining ninety-nine, excluding the chosen representative, formed the Young Master's personal guard: the Bright Cult's White Dragon Corps, the Fire Worship Cult's Black Dragon Corps, the Blood Cult's Red Dragon Corps, and the Secret Cult's Blue Dragon Corps.
Thus selected, the Young Masters entered a fierce competition to become the exalted one. Yet due to the Divine Cult's nature, the process was not always fair and aboveboard.
Internal strife was not uncommon.
Beyond Sky Mountain, where a hundred thousand Divine Cult disciples gathered, a cavalry of one hundred thundered across a barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew.
They were clad uniformly in black. Even their one hundred mounts were jet-black warhorses, draped in black uniforms and cloaks. In their right hands, long cavalry lances; in their left, gripping the reins, small shields.
That was not all. Short swords hung at their waists for close-quarters slashing, and the sword hilts protruding from behind their heads suggested longswords strapped to their backs.
They resembled the elite cavalry of a well-drilled army, but soldiers they were not. Their true identity: the Fire Worship Cult's Black Dragon Corps.
The Fire Worship Cult reigned supreme in sorcery and shamanism, but their pinnacle martial arts lagged behind.
To compensate, they had formed this cavalry unit. They raised a hundred prodigies like an army battalion, honing them for battle.
Thanks to such efforts, though individual martial prowess might pale against other factions, the Black Dragon Corps moved as one body through their unparalleled horsemanship. Their combined might was legendary, earning them fame as invincible.
Leading them at the forefront was the Black Dragon Corps Leader and the Cult Leader's second disciple, So Gun-ak.
At twenty-six, So Gun-ak was deemed a step below the Bright Cult's first disciple, Pa Geuk-mu, in martial attainment.
However, his mastery of shamanism—the Fire Worship Cult's specialty—made up the difference. In spars between the two, three hundred exchanges often ended in draws.
"Damn it all!"
As his horse galloped on, So Gun-ak's face twisted like a wrathful demon.
With his fateful duel against Pa Geuk-mu just three days away, So Gun-ak was fleeing the Divine Cult across the wasteland.
This duel would decide the next Cult Leader.
It would shape So Gun-ak's destiny. Victory meant ascending as the exalted Leader of the Divine Cult; defeat, mere master of the Fire Worship Cult.
Yet on the eve of this pivotal moment, he had abandoned the cult.
"You filthy bastard!"
While other Young Masters devoted themselves to martial training, So Gun-ak poured more effort into books than fists. Rising at dawn to practice martial arts, afternoons for shamanism, and evenings until sleep claimed him—lost in scrolls. That was his routine.
They even called him the Jade-Faced Scholar.
And now, such a man was cursing.
For fifteen years since becoming the Cult Leader's disciple, he had lived that way. Suppressing all desires, immersing himself solely in martial arts, shamanism, and books. His singular goal: to become the exalted one, standing above all.
But now, it had all crumbled to dust.
"That dog of a Lee Jeong-do!"
So Gun-ak could barely contain his rage. He had fallen victim to the schemes of Lee Jeong-do, the fourth Young Master from the Secret Cult, bearing an absurd false accusation.
Over fifteen years, Lee Jeong-do had never once bested So Gun-ak or Pa Geuk-mu in sparring. He had long been sidelined in the competition.
No one in the Divine Cult pinned hopes on him. Yet his plot had twisted everything.
"Senior Brother..."
The moment that man's face surfaced in his mind, the demonic fury on So Gun-ak's face softened.
Pa Geuk-mu—his rival and comrade. Even in defeat, So Gun-ak could have graciously accepted him as the exalted one. That was the kind of man he was.
But Pa Geuk-mu was dead. And So Gun-ak had been named the killer.
The story went that So Gun-ak, deemed inferior and fearful of his rival's presence ahead of the duel, had resorted to assassination.
Utter nonsense, a blatant frame-up. But it was precisely why he was now hunted.
"Damn it."
With resolve, So Gun-ak yanked the reins.
Neighhh!
The startled horse reared on hind legs before halting. What was astonishing was the response of the Black Dragon Corps trailing him.
Neighhh!
Despite the peril of their leader's sudden stop right before them, not a hint of panic. With near-divine horsemanship, the entire corps reined in perfectly.
"Corps Leader! We must keep moving."
It was Deputy Leader Deung Pyeong.
"Where would I even go?"
"You must survive to clear your name!"
So Gun-ak shook his head.
Vast as the martial world was, the Divine Cult's intelligence network would track them down easily.
As So Gun-ak and Deung Pyeong argued, the cult's pursuers emerged. Their tail had been stepped on.
Deung Pyeong's hand trembled on his lance.
"Elder Go Jin of the Elder Council—the Heat Fire Ghost himself!"
His shock was justified.
The Elder Council stood neutral across the four factions, composed of retired masters who obeyed only the Cult Leader's commands.
Go Jin's presence meant the Leader had acknowledged So Gun-ak's guilt.
"See? There's no place left for me."
So Gun-ak forced calm into his voice.
With the Leader's verdict, clearing his name was impossible short of challenging his authority and toppling the cult.
But with just him and the Black Dragon Corps? Unthinkable.
"We'll hold them off. Head to the Secret Vault, now."
The Secret Vault was the Fire Worship Cult's final stronghold for emergencies, housing their martial manuals, secret shamanic arts, treasures—and a hidden lair.
Rumors swirled of its location beneath some oasis in the vast wasteland, but only a handful in the cult knew the truth.
That was when it happened.
The five hundred pursuers led by Go Jin began dismounting, forming a semicircle to encircle them.
"Second Young Master! Return to the cult with us. What is this disgrace?"
"Do you believe I killed my senior brother too?"
Go Jin's eyes narrowed.
"The truth will be discerned by the Cult Leader."
Deung Pyeong urged So Gun-ak in a hushed tone.
"Go now, Corps Leader! Any longer, and breaking their encirclement will be impossible!"
Behind Go Jin's five hundred elites, another thousand warriors stirred dust clouds as they approached.
Bringing so many meant they intended to annihilate the Black Dragon Corps here.
So Gun-ak gave Deung Pyeong a faint smile.
"False accusation or not, how could I wash away my shame with my brothers' blood?"
"Corps Leader!"
Deung Pyeong's eyes quivered. The hundred in the Black Dragon Corps were family, no less.
They had grown up together since toddling days—brothers in all but blood. Only after So Gun-ak became the Leader's disciple did rank divide them.
"Black Dragon Corps! Hear me!"
"Yes, sir!"
"We all return to the Divine Cult!"
"As you command!"
The chorus echoed as the corps members' shoulders shook. Go Jin, leading the pursuers, wore a smirk of disdain.
'Tch, tch. They said he was soft-hearted. No vessel for Leadership after all.'
So Gun-ak surely knew returning meant death.
Yet choosing it anyway meant sacrificing himself to save his corps.
"A wise choice. If the Second Young Master has grievances, the Leader will address them."
A lie. The Leader already favored Lee Jeong-do as successor.
For Lee Jeong-do was the Leader's hidden son.
Only Go Jin and a few knew the Leader had secretly sent his child to the Secret Cult to be raised.
From the moment Lee Jeong-do was born twenty-four years ago, the next Leader had been decided.
"Lay down your arms!"
At Go Jin's command, So Gun-ak glanced back.
The hundred Black Dragon Corps atop their mounts exuded unyielding pride, yet wept in silence.
Tightly shut eyelids, clenched lips, trembling fists—they wept.
That was when it happened.
Whoooosh!
Suddenly, snow began falling from the sky. Snow in a winter gale was nothing unusual, yet eerily, it blanketed only the Black Dragon Corps.
Go Jin gaped at the bizarre sight.
"What sorcery is this?"
His eyes flashed. Surely some trick from So Gun-ak, master of curses and shamanism. But even So Gun-ak was baffled.
Whoooosh! Shrieeeek!
The snowfall intensified. Then, in the next instant, a beam of light descended from the heavens.
Booom!
"Urgh..."
The light was followed by a gale. Centered on the Black Dragon Corps, it raged ferociously. Go Jin shielded his eyes with his sleeve, anchoring himself with the Thousand-Jun Stake technique to avoid being hurled back.
Snow whipped through the wind. The blizzard was so fierce, eyes could scarcely open.
"What in the world!"
Shamanism advanced enough to command nature itself?
"Gasp!"
Soon, the winds died, the snow ceased. When Go Jin opened his eyes, he could only reel in horror.
The ground where the Black Dragon Corps had stood was frozen solid—and they had vanished.
In their place loomed a colossal white dragon with four legs and twin pairs of wings, gazing down at Go Jin.
"Ah... ahh."
Go Jin was too stunned to rally his flustered subordinates.
He couldn't tear away from the dragon's direct stare. Couldn't move. It felt like he'd be sucked into those eyes.
Fwooooosh! Kraaak!
The white dragon's maw parted, spewing a blizzard.
That was the last of Go Jin's memory.
Rooooar!
The white dragon's roar echoed across the wasteland.