Chapter 173
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: Sun-Moon Corporation (1)
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Even as she spoke, Myo Narang harbored a deep unease within.
Unlike Moyong Seol, whom she viewed as a rival, Cheon Luri was truly, truly one of her most precious people.
It was the first time Myo Narang had ever made such a close friend, and she had steeled herself for the possibility that their bond might shatter before finally forcing the words out.
"I know."
Cheon Luri had noticed long ago.
It was only natural.
Unlike Geum Sihyeon, who was beginning to elevate his Mixed Moonly Demon Eye toward the realm of Heart Moon Nine Phases but still lacked a relationship-centric mindset...
In Cheon Luri's eyes...
The emotions shining in Myo Narang's gaze as she looked at Geum Sihyeon were crystal clear.
Of course...
She felt a twinge of regret, and every time she glanced at that chest, jealousy flared up—sometimes intensely.
But that was beside the point.
As the young leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, destined to guide it into the future...
She was a woman of magnanimity, generosity, and maturity, willing to share what was hers with others.
"......Really, it's okay?"
Myo Narang's voice trembled slightly at the unexpectedly gracious response.
"It's okay with me."
Cheon Luri stretched out her arm and gently stroked Myo Narang's face.
The warmth made Myo Narang's heart flutter unexpectedly.
"What about Narin?"
"Grrr."
"Hehe."
Her attempt to slyly insert a sales pitch had failed spectacularly.
"She's a total perv."
When Cheon Luri peered into her eyes...
Unlike Myo Narang's gaze, filled with affection and just a hint of lust...
Dang Narin's eyes overflowed with so much raw desire that it was hard to discern any affection at all.
With a growl of "Arrr, nyaaak," Luri made it clear she could never compromise with a venomous viper like that, one who lusted after Geum Sihyeon's body.
"True enough."
Myo Narang readily admitted it.
Even from a sister's perspective...
- Hee hee, hee hee, revenge...
- The photo collection's grown again today...!
Was it because she'd secluded herself for far too long?
Her older sister was a little... twisted.
"Narang's sweet. It's fine. And big."
"......Why bring up the size? Ow—!"
As Luri furiously kneaded her cheeks—the source of her outrage—Myo Narang felt the peculiar sensation and suddenly recalled her days in the Southern Barbaric Beast Palace.
The way animal packs maintained peace was brutally simple.
Form a tight family unit bound by blood and soul, fortify the barriers, and vigilantly guard against any outsiders.
From that perspective...
Coming to a harmonious understanding with Luri was one of the best outcomes possible for Myo Narang.
Because, just like now...
What Luri couldn't provide...
She could give to Geum Sihyeon.
"I'm a little sorry to Seol unni, but..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing."
She had to steel her resolve.
Compared to the other women, all she had going for her was...
Her youth and beauty.
Two fleeting qualities.
* * *
"Hm...?"
What was that?
A chill just ran down my spine.
As if someone was about to lock me up and squeeze me dry any second now...
"Jollini, Geum hubby?"
"......Not 'hubby.'"
That was the source.
The cult leader, who had toyed with my joystick like a Kazuya wind god step, uttered the bizarre term from her lips.
"So, to sum up, you abandoned your main base and fled?"
"Oh my... Why put it like that? Call it a grand national decision for the cult's survival?"
Luri occasionally showed this all-or-nothing streak—was it just the one-shot berserker DNA etched into her genes?
Mother-in-law... no, Cheon Yuri laid out the circumstances like this.
The New Outer regions had been acting fishy lately, and hunkering down in that godforsaken corner of Tianshan made scraping by tough.
So, they'd thrown everything into maintaining the Silk Road trade network and packed up for a full-on Long March to plant themselves in the Central Plains.
"But wasn't the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult..."
"You can call it a demonic cult if you want?"
"......Ahem, wasn't it banned by imperial law?"
"Oh dear, what era do you think this is?"
Cheon Yuri formed a circle with her thumb and index finger.
"Aha."
Right.
Money fixes everything.
"We registered as Sun-Moon Corporation from the start. If there'd been real beef with the government, no way they'd approve it. They're not blind as bats, you know?"
"Fair point."
The government's hands-off policy was enforced rigorously.
......Provided taxes were paid dutifully.
Just last year, wasn't it?
The Hebei Pang Family buddies overdid it with their tax evasion skills, got a royal scolding from the officials, and screamed in agony while paying the fines.
Thus, to the government, the martial world was...
Pretty much a self-policing gang of thugs who coughed up taxes when prodded.
"But the orthodox sects tolerated it surprisingly well?"
"Mm, we had some prior communication... but things have gotten tricky now."
"......Because of that incident?"
"Yeah."
Cheon Yuri's expression turned serious.
"Geum hubby. Tell me the full story? Oh, I already know the corpse traces weren't Hong Sundok's. We shared a rice bowl once, you know."
"......"
Damn.
She figured that out?
"......There were circumstances."
"Let's not use such naughty words, okay?"
Is she nuts?
"......It's a bit complicated."
Cheon Yuri's brazen teasing face bloomed with solemnity once more.
Ruby-red eyes, just like Luri's.
A gaze so piercing it seemed to see right through me.
......Weird.
Around this mother-daughter duo, I just couldn't bring myself to lie.
Maybe I should learn Occlumency...
"Short version: There's a faction within the orthodox sects—specifically targeting Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress out of envy and slander."
"Hmm."
Cheon Yuri leaned in close with a subtle smile as she listened.
"Whoa, back off. I'll scream."
"Geum hubby, didn't think you were so heartless."
This woman's sense of distance is off.
Way off...!
After toying with me via a single gesture again, Cheon Yuri flashed a Luri-like grin as if bored, then pulled back.
"Anyway, I have good instincts. Normally, Luri would've been clinging to me by now, whining 'Mom, no, home, love it,' but this winter, she threw a fit wanting to head to Hundred Flowers Academy ASAP. Even I figured this side felt safer."
"......What does that have to do with instincts?"
"Everything."
Cheon Yuri paused, staring straight into my eyes.
I wouldn't lose.
Glare!
"......Sigh."
After a sweaty victory in this battle of pride between orthodox and demonic stares, Cheon Yuri let out a deep sigh.
And then...
"Where Luri is, that's the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. My entire life is arranged around her."
She continued her earlier thought.
* * *
"Looks like we're a step late."
Though from the Central Plains' view, Tianshan—part of the New Outer regions—was too remote to bother invading...
It should have been teeming with cultists revering the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, guided by the church leaders and martial artists.
But now...
Surveying the desolate landscape heavy with barrenness rather than vibrancy, the Blood Lord clicked his tongue.
"Did the intel leak?"
"Who knows."
Though divination had marked this as the perfect timing, the Blood Lord pondered if some unforeseen variable had slipped by unnoticed.
"Eh, doesn't matter."
He'd come intending to absorb the cult's main forces and seize the leader...
Regrettable, but regrettable.
Today's true objective was something else.
"Great Protector, over here."
"It's been ages since you dropped that title."
"But... something about this place just calls for it, right? Ho ho."
The man who had led the hardliners in declaring independence.
The former Great Protector of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
The loser ousted from the successor race.
Blood Lord Cheon Siwoo gazed at the majestic vista of Heavenly Demon Cave before him and drew a deep breath within.
When was it?
The time he'd barged in boldly, failed to prove his worth, and slunk away swallowing his shame.
Surely...
He was different now from back then.
A vague notion, but conviction still eluded him.
The demoness Hoyeonhwa hugged his back tightly and whispered.
"Worried?"
"......A little."
The Heavenly Demon Cave, comprising nine gates in total.
Breakthrough promised the true power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but...
Cheon Siwoo had failed at the fourth gate in the past, and even the leader of that era, Cheon Yuri, had turned back at the seventh.
An insurmountable gap by qualification alone.
"It'll be different now."
"It will."
"What if I fail?"
"Then what? I'll just rampage and devour everyone I see until my life ends."
Cheon Siwoo sighed as he gazed at the demoness's beaming face uttering such savage words.
"No desire to live like a normal person?"
Hoyeonhwa shot him an incredulous look.
"Me, a 'person'? Don't be ridiculous all of a sudden. A world without you holds no meaning anyway."
"Sigh... Fine, whatever. I'll head in."
"Come back safe."
Cheon Siwoo nodded silently and stood before the massive entrance to Heavenly Demon Cave.
With a slight flick of his finger, a drop of blood welled from it, traced through the air, and was sucked into the brazier beside the entrance.
Roar—
Rumble—
The sacred flames, responsive only to the blood of Heaven's lineage, blazed up, and the firmly sealed doors of Heavenly Demon Cave swung open.