Chapter 316
Chapter 316
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 316
>Chapter Title: Years (5)
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“That’s the list of those who worked under Deung-bi, is it?”
The Heavenly Demon pointed at the single letter placed on the floor by the Protector Court Master and asked.
“I’ve written down all those I remember, along with the deeds they carried out under Deung-bi’s orders.”
Having said that much, the Protector Court Master slammed his head against the floor and bowed deeply to the Heavenly Demon.
The Heavenly Demon gazed down at him with an impassive expression for a moment before speaking.
“Your crimes are grave indeed, but this seat, who proclaimed the laws on confessional punishment, cannot break the promise I made to myself. Your penance shall be the abolition of your martial arts.”
“Your Supremacy, please, kill this sinner.”
The Protector Court Master pleaded with utter sincerity.
He was an old man who had revered the martial path his entire life. He truly believed that becoming a crippled waste without his martial arts was worse than death.
But the Heavenly Demon had no intention of granting his wish.
“You dare to command this seat?”
“N-No, Your Supremacy, that is an utterly unjust accusation.”
“Then live on and pay the remainder of your debt. The Divine Cult advances endlessly, yet we lack hands. Survive and serve the Divine Cult until your dying breath.”
“…I shall obey Your Supremacy’s will.”
The Protector Court Master bowed his head to the floor once more in response, then raised it. The Heavenly Demon extended his index finger toward him.
A surge of energy erupted from his fingertip and precisely pierced the Protector Court Master’s dantian.
Clang!!
With a noise inaudible to others, the Protector Court Master’s dantian shattered into pieces.
Immediately after, excruciating agony overwhelmed him. He writhed grotesquely, foam and blood bubbling from his mouth as he let out monstrous groans.
“Grrk….”
The Heavenly Demon looked down at his flailing form and issued an order to the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master.
“Take him to the medical ward and entrust him to the demonic physicians.”
“I shall obey Your Supremacy’s will.”
Two warriors then entered the Heavenly Demon Hall. They supported the unconscious Protector Court Master and departed.
Silence returned to the Heavenly Demon Hall for a moment. Then the Heavenly Demon spoke.
“We must root out the rats within the Divine Cult. You all must cooperate actively in this matter.”
“We obey!!”
Those gathered in the Heavenly Demon Hall bowed toward the Heavenly Demon in unison and replied.
Sensing that a bloodbath was imminent in the Divine Cult for the first time in ages, they left the hall with tense faces.
Only the Heavenly Demon and the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master remained in the now-desolate Heavenly Demon Hall, exuding a forlorn atmosphere.
By then, the Heavenly Demon had quietly lifted his head to gaze at the ceiling of the hall.
He was thinking of his disciples.
Not just Wi Jin-hak and Il-mok, who would lead the Divine Cult after his departure.
He was recalling the Fourth Young Master, said to have died trapped in the righteous faction’s scheme, and the Fifth Young Master, said to have perished from demonic deviation.
Thanks to the Protector Court Master’s confession, he had learned the truth hidden behind their deaths.
Even revered as the Heavenly Demon, he had been ignorant of the truth surrounding his disciples’ deaths.
For those who cultivated martial arts, death was ever close at hand—especially in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, where demonic arts were practiced and the martial path revered above all.
It was such a commonplace occurrence that he had never even suspected.
‘…I shall bear all the Divine Cult’s faults and depart with them.’
Thus, the Heavenly Demon intended to conduct a purge with blood.
‘So you must make the Divine Cult an even greater place.’
After he left with the sins upon his shoulders, his disciples would cultivate it into something even finer.
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master, standing behind the Heavenly Demon, deliberately turned his head away to avoid looking at him staring at the ceiling.
‘…Your Supremacy.’
He feared daring to gaze upon the Heavenly Demon with pity in his eyes.
In mere seconds, the already aged Heavenly Demon’s face seemed to have grown several years older.
* * *
From that day onward, a tense atmosphere lingered in the Divine Cult for a time.
The operation to capture those colluding with the Central Plains proceeded swiftly, followed by merciless interrogations.
The Protector Court Master’s confession played a pivotal role.
In the past, when the Silver Shadow Pavilion had secretly investigated, much time had passed, making progress sluggish in many ways.
But now, with clear evidence, tails led to more tails, unearthing new lackeys one after another.
And the fierce changes sweeping the Divine Cult did not end with internal crackdowns.
The Protector Court Master’s position lay vacant, and the Heavenly Demon appointed Gu Yang-pae, patriarch of the Gu Yang clan, to fill it.
The former Protector Court Master, his dantian destroyed, remained in the Protector Court as a sort of advisor per the Heavenly Demon’s will, assisting Gu Yang-pae and reporting on duties.
It was unprecedented for a patriarch of one of the Five Great Demonic Clans to head an institution.
It signified deference to the Five Great Demonic Clans, but also caution against granting excessive authority to their patriarchs.
Yet the Heavenly Demon was resolute. And it was not entirely without precedent.
Just a few months prior, a similar case had already occurred.
“Hahaha. Come in, Young Master Il-mok.”
When Il-mok visited the newly established Doctrine Propagation Office, Baek Un-hak, now its master, greeted him warmly.
Baek Un-hak was now both patriarch of the Baek clan and master of the Doctrine Propagation Office.
The changes in the Doctrine Propagation Office did not end with Baek Un-hak.
A few months after its creation, with James at the forefront, several foreign-born new devotees proficient in language acquisition began fully engaging in its duties.
This had eased the burden on the original staff, if only slightly.
“What brings you to summon me at a time like this, Doctrine Propagation Master?”
“Hahaha. What does a time like this matter? Neither you nor I have ever committed or plotted impious acts.”
Baek Un-hak replied boldly and cut straight to the point.
“Truth be told, I wish to try a few things in the Doctrine Propagation Office and called you to ask if they seem worthwhile to you. With everyone busy on other matters, it’s better to organize them beforehand rather than report directly to His Supremacy, no?”
Il-mok felt something odd.
‘…He thinks Master will accept it if I say it’s fine?’
It was like a new recruit asking a senior to review a report before submitting it to the team leader.
Though a bit old for a new recruit.
While Il-mok mulled this over, Baek Un-hak spoke excitedly.
“First, I propose adding music and acting to the training curriculum for missionaries.”
“What kind of… nonsense is that?”
Il-mok nearly blurted out “bullshit.”
“Hahaha. Your humility remains as ever. It was thanks to you that Cheon gained enlightenment and headed to the Central Plains. The reason this patriarch took the Doctrine Propagation Master position is this, in fact. To set an example for my son and spread the Divine Cult’s greatness to the world.”
“…You mean to proselytize through plays and songs, like Young Master Baek Cheon is doing in the Central Plains?”
“Exactly. Hahaha. Translate the plays and songs our Cheon created into foreign tongues and let them echo across the world!”
Like father, like son—truly a family of zealots.
It was laughable, but Il-mok nodded.
“From a proselytizing perspective, it’s an excellent strategy.”
Translating Baek Cheon’s plays and songs, and teaching them to future missionaries would double the workload.
‘But it’s not my job anyway.’
It didn’t matter to Il-mok.
“You think so too?”
Baek Un-hak, asked in return, grinned broadly and muttered to himself.
“Heh heh heh. Soon, our Cheon’s songs will echo throughout the world.”
His expression was like that of a villain dreaming of world conquest.
“Ahem.”
Regaining his composure belatedly, Baek Un-hak adjusted his face and glanced sideways.
There sat Jong-ri Chu, who had been staring into space and mumbling since earlier.
“The second matter is best explained by the person in charge, Sixth Young Master.”
It seemed Baek Un-hak’s mind was filled only with visions of spreading hymns and plays.
“Sixth Young Master. Sixth Young Master. Pull yourself together.”
After Baek Un-hak called him several times, Jong-ri Chu finally snapped out of it and looked at Il-mok and Baek Un-hak.
“Tell Young Master Il-mok what you discussed.”
Jong-ri Chu explained the second matter point by point. Though his rambling made Il-mok’s head spin, it boiled down to this.
“So, you’re saying we should teach demonic arts to the new foreign devotees as well?”
Suggesting they teach demonic arts to those promised five years of service before being sent home bordered on insanity.
But there was a reason.
“Indeed. To be precise, only to those who vow to stay even after five years.”
Among the enslaved arrivals, some did not wish to return home.
Few among the whites, but over eighty percent of the blacks, and nearly half the nomads.
Most black and nomadic slaves sold into bondage were survivors of tribes wiped out in battle.
Returning home meant a life little better than slavery.
For them, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—which provided food and shelter without abuse as slaves—was the better choice.
‘Teaching demonic arts to foreigners too….’
Martial arts were best learned from childhood. And most of these slaves were adults.
Inefficient in that regard, but the Divine Cult’s arts were demonic arts—risking madness, yet advancing at breakneck speed.
Even adults could plausibly reach proficiency.
“As long as they don’t band together and betray us later, they’d surely be a great boon to the Divine Cult.”
“The issue is preventing such a scenario.”
The three then discussed preventive measures.
Amid the exchange of ideas, Il-mok envisioned the future if this policy passed.
Fanatical devotees of diverse races, versed in demonic arts, spreading out across the world while singing the Divine Cult’s hymns.
‘…That could be dangerous?’
Feeling an ominous premonition that the world might suffer, Il-mok flexibly escaped into denial.
‘Ahem. That’s far in the future. Whatever.’
* * *
A few months later.
The bloodstorm that seemed endless in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult finally subsided.
And at the end of the radical purge, the Heavenly Demon obtained crucial information.
[Silver Moon Merchant Group]
The Heavenly Demon gazed intently at the four characters written on the letter in his hand.
“Is this the merchant group that dealt with Deung-bi?”
“Yes, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.”
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master naturally assumed the Heavenly Demon would order their immediate punishment.
But the command that came was unexpected.
“Tell the Third Young Master in the Central Plains and the Shadow Pavilion Master to investigate the Silver Moon Merchant Group thoroughly.”
“…Is there something that catches Your Supremacy’s attention?”
“No matter how vast a merchant group, it is still just that—a merchant group. Isn’t it strange that mere merchants dared to manipulate our Divine Cult? No matter how I think, the merchant group is but the body. Not the head.”