Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Heavenly Path
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The three sects propping up the Demonic Cult.
Black Serpent Sect. Raksha Sect.
And Myriad Demon Sect.
It had been quite some time since their leaders changed. That was why Su-a headed not to the Black Serpent Sect's branch building, but somewhere else.
A little deeper in.
To a place no one knew about.
"......."
The old Heaven-Earth Eight Demons had been completely disbanded.
And because of that, the positions of the current Heaven-Earth Eight Demons remained vacant.
A massive upheaval. With the new political landscape, those in the old positions were ousted in a single day.
And among them...
Was Eun Seol-ran of the Black Serpent Sect.
"......."
The current Heavenly Demon, Cheon Jung-hyuk, had tried to take her as his disciple. He highly valued her talent and her dedication to the sword.
Her brilliance was beyond words, so even as an enemy, he wanted to bring her in. But Eun Seol-ran refused.
What exactly passed between them was unknown. But she was chased out of the Black Serpent Sect overnight, and Eun Yang-baek spewed curses at her-that much she had heard.
And naturally, she wasn't the only one expelled.
The previous Heaven-Earth Eight Demons had all their power stripped away. Some were even ordered to leave the Demon Palace with nothing but their lives.
This was out of respect for the Supreme Cult Leader, the Heavenly Demon said-a final act of mercy as fellow disciples of the same master.
And so, the four Heaven-Earth Eight Demons who had led the Black Serpent Sect and Raksha Sect all vanished. They took only their bodies and disappeared somewhere...
And Eun Seol-ran followed them.
But Su-a knew where they were.
Far from Cheonsan Mountain.
They were all gathered there.
Su-a went through several complicated procedures. She passed through a cave, answered a voice coming from somewhere, and stepped lightly over a formation.
One entrance. One exit.
And only those who qualified could enter inside.
"......."
In an instant...
The world flipped.
Su-a opened her closed eyes. She slowly looked up at the changed scenery.
She stood on the ground. But the ground itself felt mystical, its energy utterly different.
Quiet and twisted, like it was artificially cut off from the outside world.
Her upward gaze fell on a massive mountain. Not Cheonsan. But far taller and steeper.
And atop it, structures no human could imagine building blended seamlessly with nature.
A village shrouded in mist. Its scale was like a small city built on the mountain-so grand that just looking at it took her breath away.
Even from afar, it was clearly visible. Its splendor. Its immensity.
Like a city built on a mountain connected to the heavens. Staring up at it vaguely, she felt herself losing her senses to the greatness of the humans who built it.
This place was...
The city the previous Heavenly Demon had secretly built, hidden from the world's eyes.
Heavenly Path.
Su-a slowly climbed the rugged mountain path. She leaped over steep sections and threw herself onto the highlands shrouded in fog.
Beyond the gradually clearing mist, people's figures began to appear. The passersby were each doing their own tasks.
They weren't ordinary folk. Everyone here was at least beyond the Peak realm.
Those the Heavenly Demon had secretly gathered and raised to one day offer their lives for the greater cause. And when Su-a first heard that they were blades aimed at Yeokcheon, she was truly shocked.
Wasn't it like a landscape prepared for an entire lifetime just to fight and defeat Yeokcheon?
Each one here had been personally raised by the Heavenly Demon. Mixed among them were also retired elders from the Demonic Cult who had vanished from sight.
Even the renowned hidden masters of the Demonic Cult were densely packed here for that one war.
And for that one moment, they all lived quietly in this Heavenly Path.
A grand scheme built over decades.
Countless warriors ready to draw their swords against the inverted heavens.
Normally, she wouldn't even be allowed entry. But the previous Heavenly Demon had specially acknowledged her.
...Out of respect for her late father.
"......"
Su-a, feeling glum, wiped at her eyes for no reason. Standing at the finally reached entrance, she took a deep breath.
A massive formation enveloped the entire city, too vast to gauge. And it wasn't just for hiding the inside from the outside.
Vast natural qi. The place itself was like a gigantic, compressed training ground. The air quality was different, and cultivating the same arts here would yield faster progress than outside.
That was why the air felt incredibly refreshing. Su-a slowly walked toward the interior, searching for her among the people.
Then her eyes met one person's. Blood-red hair. A woman dozing languidly under a tree called out to her.
"Kid."
"...Yes?"
"Come here."
She approached at the call. The woman, staring up at her intently, pulled her into a tight hug.
"Mm. Perfect."
".......?"
"Just stay like this a bit. I needed a pillow. Cute and squishy... nice. Just right."
"Wh-who..."
"You don't know me?"
She still didn't recognize her. Su-a nodded.
The woman sighed.
"Even after retiring from the front lines, it's weird not to know me... Maybe because we didn't exchange greetings when we met before?"
"Yes?"
"You don't know the former Raksha Sect Leader? I'm hurt. It was Sa-je who brought you."
Su-a realized belatedly.
The woman leisurely napping like a layabout was the Third Demon of the Heaven-Earth Eight Demons, who had retired from the front lines.
"I-I greet the former Raksha Sect Leader...!"
"Enough. Former means I'm basically a retired old fogey. Well, not quite old enough to call myself that. Anyway... you're just the right size to hold. Does Sa-je do this often too?"
"...Y-yes?"
"Probably not. Sa-je's so cold and sharp. Ahh. Such a hassle. Such a hassle... But no helping it. Little kid. Cute kid."
The former Raksha Sect Leader, the Third Demon, whispered.
"Look into my eyes. Did you leak any info outside?"
Their gazes locked tightly. The eyes beyond the mask burned as if piercing her heart.
A mystical technique. Su-a shook her head vigorously. The Raksha Sect Leader chuckled.
"Good. You did well. This is your second visit, right?"
"Y-yes..."
"I'm handling gatekeeper duty, you see. It's just procedure, so don't mind it. To begin with... giving out a pass to roam freely outside... I can't figure out what Master is thinking... trusting you this much. Why?"
"...I don't know either."
The master of the Heaven-Earth Eight Demons meant the Heavenly Demon.
She must be referring to her.
Su-a had only met her once. Su-a twirled her fingers.
She really wanted to tell her...
She truly didn't know.
Why the Heavenly Demon cherished her. Because she was her father's daughter?
The Third Demon chuckled.
"Why'd you come?"
"...I-I'm here to find Seol-ran unnie...!"
"Eun Seol-ran? Ah. She's inside. Always bickering with her master all day... maybe a bit urgent since she hit a wall. Anyway, she's noisy. Since you're going, pass on a message for me? Tell her to sleep quietly at night. Scolding me is once a day, that's enough... And tell her I'm not teaching her any martial arts, so stop coming around. Got it?"
Having said her piece, the Third Demon leaned back against the tree and lay down again. Su-a quietly asked the masked figure.
"Um... Third Demon."
"Yeah?"
...Honestly, she was curious.
So just this once.
"I-I heard the Heaven-Earth Eight Demons wear masks to hide their identities... but not anymore, right...?"
"Right?"
"Then why the mask..."
The Third Demon flicked her mask.
"This?"
"Yes."
"This is..."
She laughed.
"Just feels empty without it now?"
"......"
So that was why Eun Seol-ran's master, the Fourth Demon, kept wearing hers too.
Su-a nodded.
.
.
.
She stepped toward the interior.
Heavenly Path.
That majestic city.
But in the end, this was a place where people lived. The towering buildings each did their jobs, and basic facilities overflowed around them to keep the Heavenly Path running on its own.
Peak realm warriors tilled the soil, scattering seeds as if it were natural. The land, dense with astonishing natural qi, made crops sprout and grow rapidly despite being newly planted, and the imported animals all grew unusually large and strong.
A blessed land. But most people here weren't just farming or raising livestock.
Their role was ultimately to be the Demonic Cult's 'hidden swords.'
All honed their martial arts. And among them, one person particularly shone.
The innermost area. The highest point in the Heavenly Path...
An open training ground.
That was where Eun Seol-ran was.
"...Hoo."
She had just finished a spar, her sword sheathing impressively. Across from her, the Fourth Demon clicked her tongue.
"You scary thing! Oof! Seriously, you'll catch up to me soon!"
"...You're exaggerating, Master."
"Exaggerating my foot! I just said it like it is! Seriously, soon you'll stand shoulder to shoulder with..."
The Fourth Demon whipped her head around. Her eyes met Su-a's.
The voice mid-exaggeration twisted immediately.
"Su-a!"
She came charging over. Caught off guard, Su-a took the grabbed hand and looked up at her.
Bear-like massive build. But gentle. And Su-a knew the reason for that gentleness.
"You came to become my disciple!"
"......."
A warrior utterly addicted to raising disciples.
Su-a shook her head at the huge frame's clumsy charm.
"I greet the Fourth Demon."
"Cut the stiff greetings. A talented kid like you doesn't need that. Just call me Master."
"You're troubling her, Master. Go away."
"What are you saying! Su-a likes me so much! Right?"
Su-a slipped her hand free and hid behind Eun Seol-ran.
The Fourth Demon clicked her tongue.
"Tsk... No warrior like me except Sis..."
"She's basically First Demon's disciple."
"What? Sis told me before. Past or present, she only has one disciple and won't take more..."
"Master."
"Oopsie."
The Fourth Demon whistled slyly.
"W-well... I'll step out for now. Su-a, see you next time!"
The Fourth Demon vanished in an instant. Su-a quietly released the hem she clutched.
The refined face sighed. Her briefly relaxed expression smiled softly at Su-a.
A pretty smile. But lonely. Completely different from the smile when they first met.
"Did First Demon send you?"
Su-a saw the venom hidden in her loneliness.
The reason she swung her sword day and night to build her strength.
And that was...
To escape her own incompetence and sweep away all of Yeokcheon-she knew that.
"...Yeah. No, unnie."
"Then?"
"Unnie."
Su-a asked softly.
"Can't we all have dinner together tomorrow...?"