Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 137
>Chapter Title: Cleanup (2)
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The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's main headquarters nestled in the Heavenly Myriad Mountains.
In a spot slightly removed from its central area stood a fairly large estate.
Within that estate, warriors ranging from middle-aged to elderly were either lost in solitary contemplation or reading books, while some formed groups to chat or enjoy games of Go.
The place, which gave off an atmosphere reminiscent of Peach Blossom Village, was officially known as the Elder Council.
These were individuals who had accumulated decades of merit within the cult, attained high realms of cultivation, and served as vice leaders of the martial forces or held executive positions in various organizations.
Yet, unable to surpass the ultimate barriers, they had yielded their positions to those superior to them, stepping back from the front lines.
In recognition of their past efforts, they were honored with the title of "Elder" and treated as esteemed seniors within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
It was to this Elder Council that an unexpected guest arrived.
As the main gate of the Elder Council suddenly swung wide open, the elders—who had been enjoying their leisure time alone or in company—turned their gazes toward the entrance.
Without anyone taking the lead, they all prostrated themselves in the five-point bow, paying respects to the visitor who had arrived without a word.
"We pay our respects to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!!"
The one who had appeared so abruptly at the main gate was the Heavenly Demon, along with his shadow—the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord—and the Heavenly Demon's chief disciple, Wi Jin-hak.
As they bowed to the Heavenly Demon who had come without prior notice, everyone gathered in the Elder Council shared a similar thought.
‘What brings the Sovereign here?'
'...Judging by the presences surrounding the Elder Council's walls, it seems some trouble has arisen.'
Though pushed aside by the younger generation—like the waves of the Yangtze River where the rear waves propel the front ones—these elders were still veterans who had once shouldered great responsibilities.
Naturally, most of them could sense the presences beginning to encircle the Elder Council.
The Heavenly Demon strode forward, passing by those prostrating before him.
Normally, he would have commanded them to rise by now, so the elders felt cold sweat trickling down their backs unbidden.
It was their instinct telling them that the signs were not good.
Moments after the Heavenly Demon, accompanied by the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord and Wi Jin-hak, walked past the elders toward the grand hall at the center of the Elder Council.
Creak.
As if they could not keep the Heavenly Demon waiting, the doors of that hall opened, and several elderly figures emerged.
They were the Elder Council Lord Deung-bi and the other administrators of the Elder Council.
The moment they stepped out, they too prostrated themselves just like the other elders, greeting the Heavenly Demon.
"We pay our respects to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons."
Only then did the Heavenly Demon halt his steps, simply gazing down at the Elder Council Lord who remained prostrated on the ground without any command to rise.
"......"
An uncomfortable silence descended upon the Elder Council.
With his body rigidly pressed to the ground and his head bowed, the Elder Council Lord spoke.
"May I ask what brings the Sovereign here?"
"I have come to ask you something."
"Please speak."
Still without lifting his head, remaining prostrated, the Elder Council Lord replied. The Heavenly Demon then asked,
"Why did you try to kill Il-mok?"
"!!!"
The ones who reacted to the question were the other elders nearby.
Unwittingly, their bodies twitched even as they remained prostrated, sweat beading on their foreheads and beginning to soak the floor.
It was an eerie occurrence.
The Heavenly Demon had yet to unleash the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, nor was the heavy, viscous demonic qi unique to it crushing everything around.
Even without raising any aura, at some point, the elders had begun trembling in fear.
Having devoted decades to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they all knew the Heavenly Demon's true nature.
In that atmosphere, the Elder Council Lord—who still could not raise his head without permission—responded.
"...For the Sovereign to come here in person and question me means Vice Deputy Commander Yoo-geuk must have talked."
That statement was no different from admitting guilt, and once more, a chilling silence settled over the Elder Council.
The prostrated elders were at a loss for what to do, and a fierce aura began boiling from Wi Jin-hak's body.
After all, these were the culprits who had tried to kill his youngest martial brother. Yet even in his rage, he could not step forward.
It was not solely because he had entered the Transcending Demon realm and could control his anger. His revered master's interrogation was ongoing.
As Wi Jin-hak glared murderously at the Elder Council Lord from behind his master, the Elder Council Lord spoke again.
"May I rise to answer?"
"So be it."
With a calm—no, restrained tone of suppressed fury—the Heavenly Demon replied, and the Elder Council Lord calmly rose to his feet.
"You asked why we tried to kill the Eighth Young Master?"
"Indeed."
"After the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons ascends. It is because we wished to become the next Cult Leader. Killing each other to claim the position of Cult Leader—is that not a long-standing tradition of our Divine Cult?"
Perhaps because it was the expected answer, the Heavenly Demon asked again.
"Il-mok is still too young to become Cult Leader. Surely you don't claim ignorance that killing a child who isn't even aiming for the position has nothing to do with our Divine Cult's traditions?"
At that question, for some reason, the Elder Council Lord averted his gaze.
It was not to avoid the Heavenly Demon's eyes.
His gaze turned toward Wi Jin-hak, who was glaring at him as if intent on murder.
"It was a decision aimed not at the Eighth Young Master, but at the First Young Master."
Suddenly mentioned, a puzzled expression crossed Wi Jin-hak's face.
"If this foolish First Young Master becomes Cult Leader, who knows what calamities might befall our Divine Cult. Thus, we merely sought to eliminate first the Eighth Young Master, who posed the greatest risk of becoming his strongest ally."
At the Elder Council Lord's follow-up words, Wi Jin-hak's face flushed an unprecedented red.
It was not merely from anger.
'Because of my foolishness, they targeted the youngest?'
Already seething with rage, the moment his presumed-overcome inferiority complex was prodded, his inner demon surged forth.
But Wi Jin-hak, who had overcome the side effects of demonic arts and entered the Transcending Demon realm, barely restrained the outburst and began to subdue his inner demon.
Oblivious or not to his chief disciple's state, the Heavenly Demon addressed the Elder Council Lord.
"What nonsense. If Jin-hak were truly foolish, he wouldn't heed Il-mok's advice, rendering it meaningless. Conversely, if Jin-hak heeds Il-mok's counsel, then the foolishness you speak of becomes irrelevant."
As he spoke, the terrifying demonic qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art finally began emanating from the Heavenly Demon's body.
"You simply let greed for the Cult Leader position blind you to killing a child who could illuminate the Divine Cult's future."
As the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's demonic qi crushed the entire Elder Council.
The Elder Council Lord, most intensely exposed to the qi, endured the pressure bearing down on his entire body and barely managed to speak.
"A child who could illuminate the Divine Cult's future... I was unaware the Sovereign held the Eighth Young Master in such high regard."
"To still not recognize the changes that child brought in a mere year and a half—now that is true foolishness on your part."
The Elder Council Lord's complexion had paled white.
It was not solely due to the Heavenly Demon's blunt rebuke. Crushed by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's qi, his internal injuries were steadily worsening.
With blood beginning to trickle from the corners of his mouth, the Elder Council Lord said,
"May this foolish one make a final plea?"
"Speak."
"My greed blinded me to commit this act, so please sate your wrath with my life."
After a moment of apparent contemplation, the Heavenly Demon nodded.
Immediately after, the amount of blood flowing from the Elder Council Lord's mouth increased dramatically.
In addition to his internal injuries, he had bitten off and severed his own tongue in suicide.
The Elder Council Lord's face rapidly grew ashen, and everyone in the Elder Council watched as he slowly died.
Even as excessive blood loss made the Heavenly Demon's form blur in his vision, the Elder Council Lord thought,
'...Where did it all go wrong?'
Everything had been proceeding smoothly. Until it became entangled with the youngest young master.
That was why he could not comprehend it even more.
He had surely conveyed to hold back after repeated failures, so how had his identity been exposed?
He inferred it had come through the Vice Deputy Commander, but the Elder Council Lord had no knowledge of exactly what had transpired at the Demonic Path Academy.
To avoid suspicion, he too had held back and severed communications.
The one thing he could deduce was,
'It must be the doing of the youngest young master again.'
Even as blood loss caused him to collapse to the floor, in his now completely darkened vision, the faint image of Il-mok appeared.
But with his consciousness already fading, he could no longer string thoughts together.
Only a single thought arose.
'At least it ends with my death alone—truly fortunate.'
With that thought, the Elder Council Lord's consciousness vanished.
Gazing down for a moment at the Elder Council Lord collapsed on the floor, still bleeding from his mouth.
Confirming that his life had fully ended, the Heavenly Demon withdrew the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's qi and issued a command.
"Clean this place up."
"Understood!"
No sooner had the Silver Shadow Pavilion Lord's response fallen than the Silver Shadow Pavilion warriors encircling the Elder Council entered, removing the Elder Council Lord's corpse and cleaning up the bloodstains.
* * *
That night.
"I pay my respects to Master."
Summoned to the Heavenly Demon Hall by the Heavenly Demon, Wi Jin-hak prostrated himself in the five-point bow.
"Rise."
Having said that, the Heavenly Demon stared intently at Wi Jin-hak's face for a moment.
Seeing the faint traces of worry there, the Heavenly Demon asked,
"Are the Elder Council Lord's words bothering you?"
"...Yes, Master."
He considered denying it but answered honestly. Wi Jin-hak now knew that pointless lies held no meaning.
At his chief disciple's honest reply, the Heavenly Demon nodded once and said,
"Then, do you remember the answer this old man gave?"
The Heavenly Demon had noticed his chief disciple falling prey to his inner demon. But the words he had spoken to the Elder Council Lord were not fabricated to console his disciple.
"That is this old man's true sentiment. Did Il-mok not tell you as much? A leader is merely one who employs the right talents in the right places. There is no need to become a genius yourself."
"I think the same and have been gradually subduing my inner demon, Master."
Hearing it from the master he revered differed from his own thoughts. Wi Jin-hak replied with a noticeably eased expression.
Perhaps because his chief disciple's face had relaxed somewhat, the Heavenly Demon posed an abrupt question.
"Then, do you understand why this old man ended this matter with the life of just one Elder Council Lord?"
Wi Jin-hak pondered the question for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth.
"I thought it was to conclude this incident as a warning. A warning to prevent the youngest martial brother—and innocent young cult members—from being killed in the struggle for the Cult Leader position."
It was an answer drawn from recalling the master's actions he had observed as a disciple over the past decades.
From reforming the Demonic Path Academy's education methods to everything else, his master did not desire the pointless deaths of cult members.
"In the same vein, punishing all who followed the Elder Council Lord would require killing too many cult members."
The Heavenly Demon nodded.
"From Il-mok's perspective, that is the correct answer. Now, consider it from your own standpoint, Jin-hak, and come up with an answer."
"...?"
Wi Jin-hak wore a puzzled expression.
One might expect disappointment at a disciple struggling to find an answer, but the Heavenly Demon simply gazed at him leisurely, as if content to wait.
Thus, instead of asking his master, Wi Jin-hak calmly deliberated deeply.
After a long silence, Wi Jin-hak cautiously spoke.
"Perhaps it is to test me."
"A test...? Why do you think that?"
At his master's impassive reaction, Wi Jin-hak explained the conclusions he had reached after prolonged reasoning.
"The Elder Council Lord stated that his ultimate goal was to push me aside. If all those connected to him were punished, it could lead to purging everyone gunning for me as well. In that case, I would have a very high chance of ascending to the next Cult Leader position without interference. To prevent that, you ended it with just the one life, I surmise."
Surprisingly, the Heavenly Demon nodded at Wi Jin-hak's reasoning.
It meant he had deliberately spared those targeting his first disciple.