Chapter 336
Chapter 336
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 336
>Chapter Title: Dawn (5)
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Watching Dokgo Ryong pledge his fervent loyalty to Wi Jin-hak, Il-mok thought to himself.
‘…It’s not so much a father-to-son inheritance as grandfather-to-grandson.’
For some reason, Dokgo Ryong and Wi Jin-hak reminded him of Dokgo Pae and Mak Ho-yeol from their days at the Demonic Path Academy.
‘Well, the Eldest Senior Brother does feel a bit different.’
Whenever he saw what Mak Ho-yeol, Dokgo Pae, and now Dokgo Ryong were up to, they seemed like fools, but Wi Jin-hak gave off a slightly different impression.
After all, he had pushed through his grand ambition to embrace everyone in the Divine Cult.
‘If the Eldest Senior Brother is the Cult Leader, there’s nothing to worry about.’
Il-mok nodded in satisfaction as he gazed at the training grounds.
* * *
Immediately after the life-and-death duels concluded. Wi Jin-hak’s injuries were severe, so the Left and Right Guardian Envoys moved to assist him, but he refused.
“The vessel who must become a god cannot show weakness.”
While the Left and Right Guardian Envoys pondered what to do, Dokgo Ryong suddenly stepped up beside Wi Jin-hak and supported his body.
“Cult Leader, let us walk together.”
“Dokgo Family Head.”
“What is wrong with the Cult Leader walking alongside his followers? Moreover, turning a blind eye to the one you serve in his time of need is both disloyal and irreverent. Do not make this old servant of Dokgo into such an irreverent man.”
“…Very well, then. We shall walk together.”
Having forged their bond through the heated life-and-death duel, the two supported each other as they took their steps.
“Waaaaah!”
“Long live! Long live! Heavenly longevity!!”
“The Heavenly Demon descends! Ten thousand demons rejoice!!”
Those who had watched the life-and-death duels erupted in cheers, clearing a path for them.
On the way from the training grounds to the infirmary.
A memory suddenly surfaced, and Dokgo Ryong spoke up.
“Now that I think of it, on the night the Ascension Ceremony ended, there was a conversation I had with the Hyeok-ryeon Family Head.”
“What conversation?”
“This old servant asked if the Hyeok-ryeon Family Head would participate in the struggle for supremacy, but he declared he would not and said something peculiar.”
Dokgo Ryong paused to recall, then continued.
“He said the Cult Leader’s vessel was elsewhere, and coveting that position would be the greed of an old man. In this old servant’s view, the Cult Leader’s vessel he mentioned seems to refer to you, my lord. Hahaha.”
“Hahaha. To think the Hyeok-ryeon Family Head abstained because he acknowledged me—this is delightful news just to hear.”
Wi Jin-hak burst into hearty laughter at Dokgo Ryong’s words.
* * *
The physician, who had immediately discerned the severity of Wi Jin-hak’s condition, treated him with utmost care.
And a few days later.
Once Wi Jin-hak’s internal injuries had recovered to some extent, the Cult Leader inauguration ceremony was held.
The ceremony, led by the An Family Head, was grand in its own right, but compared to the Heavenly Demon’s Ascension Ceremony, it felt somewhat modest.
It wasn’t because the An Family Head refused to acknowledge Wi Jin-hak. It was the tradition of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The Divine Cult strictly distinguished between the Cult Leader and the Heavenly Demon in their treatment.
After the inauguration ceremony and banquet, which lasted a full day, concluded, in the evening.
Wi Jin-hak summoned Il-mok to the Cult Leader’s Hall.
It was a strange sight. Wi Jin-hak seated on the throne was one thing, but the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master standing at his side was another.
“Follower Il-mok pays respects to the Cult Leader.”
With the Heavenly Demon ascended, he was no longer a Young Master, so Il-mok humbly referred to himself as a follower.
As Il-mok performed his bows, Wi Jin-hak laughed heartily.
“Hahaha. When we’re talking like this alone, you can call me Eldest Senior Brother, little brother.”
Il-mok pondered briefly, then accepted his Eldest Senior Brother’s intent.
“Understood, Eldest Senior Brother.”
“Hahaha. Good. Now that all the events are over, do you have any separate plans in mind?”
“I was thinking of returning to the Western Depot.”
It wasn’t as if he had said it because he wanted to work at the Western Depot.
The Western Depot had already entered a period of stability.
In the first place, the Western Depot’s only real issue had been the Palace of Ten Thousand Pleasures. Bandits, mountain thieves, and minor underworld riffraff were hardly even a problem.
It had been the stronghold of the Palace of Ten Thousand Pleasures for centuries, so they had long since exterminated such nuisances.
On the flip side, that was precisely why the common folk of the Western Depot held such deep trust in the Palace of Ten Thousand Pleasures.
Had those Left and Right Virtuous Benefactors not committed their atrocities, it wouldn’t have been so easy to erase the Palace’s shadow.
In any case, with the Western Depot already stabilized, Il-mok had recently been lounging around with hardly any work, simply enjoying his rest there.
Barring the occasional martial arts training, sparring with the maidservants, or offering advice, that is.
Whether he knew Il-mok’s inner thoughts or by coincidence, Wi Jin-hak shook his head.
“Little brother, the Western Depot seems fine now even without you stepping in. Letting a follower’s talent rot would be the Cult Leader’s sin as well, so I was thinking of assigning you a task befitting your talents.”
“…A task befitting my talents?”
Feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, Il-mok hesitated before asking again, and Wi Jin-hak nodded.
“Indeed. Things have been hectic with the Ascension Ceremony and the struggle for supremacy, but in the meantime, urgent news arrived from the Central Plains.”
“Urgent news from the Central Plains—does that mean something related to the Blood Cult?”
Wi Jin-hak nodded and replied.
“It seems the Martial Alliance and the hypocrites of the Central Plains have joined forces and finally located the Blood Cult’s stronghold, wiping it out in one fell swoop. It’s good news that those scum who massacred even the common folk are dead, but it’s a hindrance to our Divine Cult’s growth—a truly complicated matter.”
“…Was there no news of the jiangshi?”
Il-mok asked, recalling the jiangshi he had encountered in the Sichuan Secret Cave.
Even when it wasn’t fully completed, that monster had relentlessly exuded a horrific aura, so he doubted the Blood Cult had been taken down so easily.
“It’s said its head was severed by Martial Alliance Leader Cheok Pae-myeong’s hand. Hmm. Still, it was quite the dangerous monster. The Plum Blossom Sword Sage arrogantly tried to block it alone and ended up losing his life to it.”
The Plum Blossom Sword Sage was an elder of the Mount Hua Sect, known as their greatest sword, and one of the Twelve Heavenly Lords, the absolute masters of the Central Plains.
The Mount Hua Sect might not acknowledge it, but among the Twelve Heavenly Lords, he was treated as one of the weaker ones, an old man nonetheless.
‘…He stepped forward to prove his strength and got killed by the jiangshi.’
Il-mok pondered the Plum Blossom Sword Sage’s cause of death briefly, then nodded as if understanding.
Since it was an assault on the Blood Cult’s stronghold, the Plum Blossom Sword Sage, Martial Alliance Leader, and many other Twelve Heavenly Lords must have participated.
If multiple peak experts had ganged up on it, even that jiangshi wouldn’t have held out.
“Then, should I head to Gansu Province?”
“Hahaha. As expected of my little brother.”
Wi Jin-hak laughed in satisfaction, gazing at Il-mok with eyes full of trust.
The sight of him seated on the throne with that gaze strangely evoked the image of his master, the Heavenly Demon.
“With the Blood Cult gone, immense changes will soon sweep the Central Plains. In such turbulent times, it won’t be easy to send word to the main headquarters here every time and devise plans. There needs to be a leader on-site to respond immediately to the pressing shifts in the situation—so I want you to take on that role.”
“Understood.”
Il-mok soothed his inner regret and bowed his head.
‘Well, I’ve had plenty of rest lately. No helping it.’
Even after the Western Depot stabilized, he’d lived comfortably, and during the Heavenly Demon’s Ascension Ceremony, his heart had been bitter but his body at ease.
On top of that.
‘…I don’t want to follow Master’s will exactly, but I should at least uphold the bare minimum of duty.’
His departed master’s request lingered in his mind.
“Use all the material and human resources operated under the name of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult as you see fit in your response. However, the Shadow Squadron is currently on a special mission, so avoid drawing on them if possible.”
After receiving Wi Jin-hak’s final instructions, Il-mok paid his respects and left the Cult Leader’s Hall.
Wi Jin-hak watched Il-mok’s retreating figure with a pleased expression, then soon turned his head with a grave look.
“Now tell me, Silver Shadow Pavilion Master. What exactly is the mission the Shadow Squadron has been assigned? The mission even this Cult Leader doesn’t know about.”
At Wi Jin-hak’s question, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master bowed his head and replied.
“My apologies for the delay. This was due to the last words left to me by the ascended previous Heavenly Demon. His will was to convey it only to the one who rightfully ascended to the next Cult Leader’s position. Now that the Young Master has become the legitimate Cult Leader, I shall tell you the truth.”
With that, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master opened the topic and recounted everything that had transpired.
“The Shadow Squadron’s matter began with the incident between Young Master Il-mok and former Elder Council Master Deung Bi.”
The possibility that Deung Bi was a spy in the imperial palace. The Silver Moon Merchant Group and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Finally, the incident where the Shadow Squadron Master nearly died at the hands of an old eunuch once called a grand eunuch.
Having heard it all, Wi Jin-hak’s face flushed red as if about to explode.
He gripped the armrest of the throne so hard it seemed he might shatter it, then spoke.
“You’re saying the imperial palace dared to scheme against our great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?”
“That is correct, Cult Leader.”
“But why did Master stay silent?”
At Wi Jin-hak’s question, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master repeated verbatim what the Heavenly Demon had told him.
“Because the time had not yet come.”
Even if they had struck the imperial palace then, they might have succeeded in killing the emperor, but in the end, they would have lost. That was the prediction.
If the Heavenly Demon’s lifespan ran out mid-war and he ascended, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could collapse pointlessly—a massive source of anxiety.
And finally.
“Above all, the current Divine Cult is growing at a steep pace. The previous Heavenly Demon said that in ten years—if our Divine Cult is given just ten more years to grow—then we will have the power to conquer the Central Plains.”
Having finished all explanations, the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master bowed his head, hiding his inner unease.
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master was anxious. He worried that Wi Jin-hak, upon learning of the imperial palace’s interference, might fly into a rage and start a war immediately.
He worried that he might betray the will of his ascended lord.
“Suuuuup. Hoooo.”
After several deep breaths to suppress his anger, Wi Jin-hak suddenly rose roughly from the throne.
The Silver Shadow Pavilion Master flinched, thinking Wi Jin-hak was finally about to cause trouble, but his actions exceeded expectations.
“Ten years. You said definitely ten years? Master did.”
“Yes.”
“When did Master say that?”
“About a year and a half have passed.”
“Then, in the remaining time, I must become a being who can stand in Master’s place.”
While the Silver Shadow Pavilion Master puzzled over what that meant, Wi Jin-hak strode toward the entrance of the Cult Leader’s Hall.
“I’m going to the secret vault.”
The secret vault. Or the Heavenly Demon Secret Vault.
It was the place where the manual of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was sealed.
“Within eight years, I will definitely become the Heavenly Demon and show you.”
It was a place accessible only to the Cult Leader and the Heavenly Demon.
* * *
The early morning of the next day after receiving instructions from Wi Jin-hak.
Il-mok departed from the main headquarters toward Gansu Province, accompanied only by his four maidservants.
Both Il-mok and the four maidservants were highly skilled, so there was no need to bring additional armed escorts, and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was still suffering from a manpower shortage.
After a journey of about half a month, they arrived at Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province and the base of the Maitreya Illuminated Cult.
“Young Master, we’ve been waiting for you. A guest has come looking for you.”
At Gu Yang-mun’s words welcoming him, Il-mok could only tilt his head.
“A guest? What guest?”
He had been holed up in the Western Depot and main headquarters for nearly two years, and now suddenly a guest?