Chapter 183
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Deafening Wave Enchanting Steps (1)
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I took a brief look at the desolate state of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Lanzhou Branch, where only chill emptiness lingered without a soul in sight, and completely revised my plans.
What was the reason Lanzhou had grown into a major city in the first place?
It was a key hub piercing through the Silk Road for trade, and the Cult had managed most of that distribution.
With the city's market share shrinking and this horrific situation brought by players, the clues had to start there.
Searching for survivors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult here would be amateur hour.
"Good day, elder."
"Hm? We're closed for the day."
"Ah, I'm from the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress."
"What...!"
I questioned the surrounding shop owners, who turned utterly deferential in an instant, as if beholding a heavenly god descended from the skies.
"Goods that used to come in aren't arriving at all... The whole city is on the brink of total ruin...."
There wasn't a Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress branch here, but...
In the Central Plains—precisely in the merchant world—not knowing the Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress marked you as a spy.
With that in mind, hoping for some loan or aid, the merchant spilled the entire story.
To sum up the incident:
About a month ago, shipments from the Western Regions had completely dried up, and around that time, a fire broke out at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Lanzhou Branch, accompanied by a fierce battle.
Well...
It was probably internal strife.
Most of the elites from the Ghost Slaughter Squad's Lanzhou Branch—loyalists to the Cult Leader—had moved to Xi'an, so the remaining warriors were outnumbered against the enemy.
"Hing..."
"You okay? Want some candy?"
"Nyam..."
The Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had taken the bad news hard, sucking on candy with a gloomy expression.
"So the local markets and back-alley trade have all plummeted..."
It was obvious at a glance.
Hm...
Short-term, it felt better to just ignore it and move on.
But long-term?
If I could normalize the Silk Road?
My gut told me this investment could elevate me to the daimyo of Lanzhou.
More bluntly...
I smelled money.
"I see. I'll positively pursue some investment."
"Ooh...!"
Well...
I didn't have my smartphone right now, so direct contact with home was impossible.
But relaying my intent through Luri would secure enough support to pull Lanzhou out of this crisis immediately.
...I hadn't realized it.
Luri was quite close with my mother.
She had my mom's contact saved under some horrifically mangled name that defied description, and they even chatted frequently on Murim Talk.
Anyway, Father knew full well about my trade pact with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Silk Road.
He'd handle it properly on his own.
.
.
.
After scouting more spots, selling some hot air, and gathering info,
I parked Luri and the wolf pup in the most luxurious room of Lanzhou's finest inn, then headed back out alone.
With the wolf pup there, I could catch a breather no matter what happened, and that soul-binding ritual or whatever let us sense if the other was in trouble anyway.
So, back to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Lanzhou Branch.
Taking in the traces of fierce battles everywhere, I inferred the fight's progression from the wounds.
Small Nothingness Art—brain full throttle.
First, the outskirts.
The inner elites clashed head-on with an external force—not quite top experts.
Numbers seemed even, but the invaders consistently held the advantage, pressing relentlessly.
And...
It looked like there was a traitor inside, or they got sandwiched by forces that cleared the interior first.
Traces cut off completely midway.
Moving deeper into the compound,
Signs of one overwhelming powerhouse unilaterally massacring the rest.
"Grrraaah...!"
"Hm?"
Suddenly, a guttural roar leaked from a half-collapsed building.
Something humanoid lunged at me in a flash.
"Damn, you startled me."
Of course, the one hailed as the greatest of our era (for real) wasn't touched by so much as a fingertip...
This feel.
The sensation of slicing through something wearing human skin, not a person.
And.
On the husk sprawled on the ground, eyes bulging, the deathly pallor on its face...
"..."
Definitely.
The face of a Ghost Slaughter Squad member I'd encountered in Zhongqing.
Analysis complete.
Seeing Hong Sundok's handiwork writhing here,
I concluded the Blood Cult goons had stirred trouble on this front.
...But Hong Sundok was still holed up in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, lost in some survival RP game, unable to log out?
Ha, fuck. Who then?
"Is this as far as I go..."
Cheon Siu swallowed his regret and abandoned the challenge at the eighth gate of the Heavenly Demon Cave.
What madness had driven the sages, the previous Heavenly Demon, to create such insane gates?
He understood the intent of facing one's inner self.
But the illusionary self wielded all demonic arts freely, while he was shackled from using any demonic arts at all to overcome it.
In other words,
It was tantamount to "don't pass."
Unless he transcended extreme demonic boundaries to the realm of shedding demons.
He had reached a level where he could easily suppress even Wei Ziyang or Cheon Yuri, but he hadn't yet transcended demons entirely.
"...Whew. No, there's still time left."
Impatience was poison on the path of martial arts.
Having broken through to the seventh gate—one step beyond Cheon Yuri—counted as tremendous progress already.
Forcing down his regret, he emerged from the Heavenly Demon Cave to find
"Congratulations, Lord."
The cultists who had surrendered and remained on Heavenly Mountain prostrating before him.
"Lord? Your Lord is far off in the Central Plains."
Cheon Siu's scoff echoed, but none dared reply, long silence overflowing.
And.
"I've already abandoned the Cult once. If you grow complacent and compromise weakly with Central Plains scum, I'll abandon you again."
He recalled it all.
Every moment from birth, struggling to survive as the previous Lord's bastard.
Of the Cheon clansmen who had outpaced him then, all but two were dead.
And those two, sensing something, had led their supporting cultists away from Heavenly Mountain.
The Cult's heaven abandoning its holy land meant it was false heaven.
The Cult must return to righteousness.
To a place ruled by the law of the strong.
Then.
Asking himself.
Where lies heaven's will?
"From now on, I will stand as heaven."
It will be in this hand.
"This place is such a fucking dump... You went back and forth on these streets?"
"Yeah."
I understood once more why Cheon Yuri had plopped her butt down at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Xi'an Branch.
Avoiding the Blood Cult's revenge war to preserve forces...
And simply,
Geographically, it was shit-tier land.
Like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms—closer to Ma Chao's hometown in Liang Province, it felt less like cities and more like villages, or even hamlets.
No wonder Liang Province cavalry was top-tier in Three Kingdoms games; vast open plains perfect for horses stretched barrenly.
Even more sand than grass the farther west you went.
"Kyau!"
Thanks to that, the wolf pup was thrilled, bounding about wildly.
Fair enough.
The dog from my past life loved road walks but went crazy dashing unleashed in waterside parks.
Ride got a bit bumpy...
But let her enjoy.
Anyway,
We were heading toward Heavenly Mountain, but my mind was still a mess.
From the trends, the Cult headquarters had likely been devoured in a Blood Cult mukbang.
Charging in with Luri would be suicide.
"No choice."
"Can't be helped."
I peeled back one layer of handsomeness veiling my face with reverse disguise arts.
"Uncomfy."
"But 65G... Urk, eurk...!"
I fitted her with the trendy boob padding for a dreamlike 65G chest unattainable even in dreams.
And topped her head with the finest quality wig.
Thus, Geum Sihyeon and Cheon Luri became
a nomadic man and a shortstack beauty.
This should prevent any "Hey! Little Heavenly Demon!" interruptions.
I'd taught Luri a makeshift Ghost Face Mask technique too, so to others, we'd look like close siblings.
"Not this way."
"Mm. Got a detour first."
Still, shoving our heads into the tiger's maw called for minimal insurance.
Luckily, the perfect midway stop existed.
[Shandong Mount Tai – Eight Emperors Six Harmonies Skill]
[Liaoning Phoenix Mountain – Life and Death Division]
[Gansu Dunhuang – Deafening Wave Enchanting Steps]
[Zhejiang Mount Putuo – Dugogu Sword]
Among the Northern Bright Divine Art series I hadn't acquired yet, Deafening Wave Enchanting Steps slumbered in Gansu’s Dunhuang.
Honestly, no telling when I'd farm the rest... so might as well grab it en route.
Frankly,
If they told me to come back?
No way in hell I'd return to this dump.
.
.
.
And arriving near Dunhuang,
Following the intensified pull of the enhanced Northern Bright Divine Art while circling a bit,
"Here it is."
I quickly located the Northern Bright Stele.
Deafening Wave Enchanting Steps, huh.
Ending in "bu" means footwork, right?
Indeed, among my learned arts, I lacked solid movement skills, so it'd surely help.
Rumble rumble──
"Eek!"
Taking in Luri's adorable squeal at the sudden earth-shaking,
I gripped her hand tightly
and stepped toward the sinkhole-like pit in the desert's heart.