Chapter 111
Chapter 111.
Lee Ganghan told the Divine Maiden about what he had experienced.
On the day of moving, his mother and the short-haired Divine Maiden, Yoo Doa, had barged in and carved Ma on his chest.
Up to the point where the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation was absorbed here.
[……The Divine Maiden's lineage remained?]
"Yes."
[That can't be…… That can't be…….]
The Divine Maiden Ghost kept muttering 'That can't be' while saying there was no way the Divine Maiden's lineage could have continued.
'Why is she so certain?'
The system had clearly called Cheon Seran the 'Last Divine Maiden'.
So originally, the lineage was supposed to end with her generation?
Lee Ganghan asked directly.
"Previously, when I injected mana into the Divine Maiden, it showed 'Last Divine Maiden Cheon Seran'. Is that related to this?"
[Yes. In my generation, the Heavenly Mandate Tower burned down, and everyone inside was massacred. So I naturally thought the Divine Maiden's lineage had been severed…….]
"Massacre?"
[…….]
The Divine Maiden Ghost closed her mouth, seemingly not wanting to talk about this.
Seeing this, Lee Ganghan was reminded of the story he had heard from Cheon Gahyeon before.
-The Divine Maiden is a traitor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect!
-Yes. It was the Divine Maiden who led the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect to destruction. She led the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect to ruin and burned her own body…… The Divine Maiden's lineage has long been severed.
-The Divine Maiden is the enemy of the Cheon clan! The teaching passed down through generations of the family was to never forget that the Divine Maiden is the enemy of the Divine Sect. If not for her, the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect would have continued to prosper…….
Cheon Gahyeon had shown intense hatred toward the Divine Maiden.
She had been forced to use honorifics due to the Sacred Fire's Bone-Splitting Muscle-Tearing Torture.
But when Lee Ganghan said the Divine Maiden was also from the Cheon clan, her eyes immediately flipped.
Wouldn't this also be related somehow?
'I can't stand not knowing what I'm curious about.'
Lee Ganghan looked at the Divine Maiden and spoke.
"Actually, in reality, I met a woman who claimed to be a descendant of the Heavenly Demon."
[……A descendant of the Heavenly Demon?]
"Yeah. Her name was Cheon Gahyeon, and since she attacked me, I confined her in Ten Thousand Demon Battle and made her the lowest-grade disciple of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect…… She said you were a traitor of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect."
[Betrayal? Me? Ha……!]
At this.
Flash……!
From the Divine Maiden's eyes hidden beneath her hair.
A blood-red glint shone ominously.
'……A completely different aura from usual.'
An intense gaze that made even Lee Ganghan unconsciously tense up.
Beyond just an eerie feeling, he could even sense murderous intent to tear the opponent apart.
Then.
[……Well, yes. From the Cheon clan's perspective, they might have felt that way. From their perspective, at least.]
"From the Cheon clan's perspective."
[This is all I can tell you.]
Not wanting to discuss this matter any further, the Divine Maiden spoke firmly.
'It seems like the Heavenly Demon's clan and the Divine Maiden are sworn enemies.'
He didn't know exactly what had happened in the past, but there seemed to be an irreconcilable grudge between the Cheon clan and the Divine Maiden.
However.
'Why did it show as Cheon Seran when the Divine Maiden appeared?'
The Divine Maiden had said she lived as 'Yoo Seran'.
Why did the system display her as Cheon Seran?
Lee Ganghan's questions weren't all resolved, but.
'Let's move on from this topic for now.'
It seemed like she wouldn't give any more answers here anyway.
He decided to ask about something else.
"After Ma was carved here, I saw a star within the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation."
[Uh…… A star? You saw a star in the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation?]
"Yeah. It was a star that overwhelmed me just by looking at it. It felt like my mind was completely flying away."
[Hmm…….]
The Divine Maiden Ghost pondered deeply about the star story.
"Ah. But the character changed from Ma to Conquer, and then I regained my senses. Why did that happen?"
[Conquer?]
When Lee Ganghan said the character had changed.
Swoosh.
She flew toward Lee Ganghan's chest and examined the character closely.
Although Ma was carved there now.
[Oh. I can really feel the energy of Demon-Conquering. How on earth did this…….]
"That short-haired Divine Maiden seems to have carved it."
[Hmm. I don't know much about the star either. However, I did hear that when entering the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation to inherit the Heavenly Demon's power, one could glimpse the origin of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art there.]
The origin of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
"Was the origin of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art a star?"
[Well. As far as I know, there were no cases where the origin was said to be a star……. Of course, only the Heavenly Demon inherits power within the Heavenly Demon Sacred Blood Formation, so we Divine Maidens couldn't know everything that happened inside.]
"I see."
The origin of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
He couldn't get a sense of what connection there was between the star and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, but.
"So that's why the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's achievement increased?"
[The Heavenly Demon Divine Art's achievement?]
"Yeah. It went from 2-star to 4-star, and I also gained Heavenly Demon Divine Palm."
[For martial arts achievement to increase just from seeing a star…… That's really amazing. If martial arts improved so easily, you'd want to keep looking at stars, wouldn't you?]
Just looking at a star would increase martial arts achievement.
At the Divine Maiden's words that this was completely one-sided benefit, Lee Ganghan smiled bitterly.
"No. I never want to see it again, it felt like being dominated by the star."
[Is that so?]
"Yeah. If it weren't for Conquer, I might have already disappeared. But did they carve Conquer in the past too?"
[I heard they did in the early days. But in later generations, they worried that carving Conquer would reduce the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's achievement, so they only carved Ma.]
"Really?"
[Yes. The energy of Demon-Conquering and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art clash with each other in some aspects.]
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was ultimately demonic martial arts.
The energy of Demon-Conquering was the power to overcome demons, so there might be incompatible aspects between them.
Then gaining the trait 'Demon-Conquering God' might actually be bad for training the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
'For that being the case, it's been fine so far.'
The energy of Demon-Conquering didn't feel particularly conflicting.
Well, he had only acquired Demon-Conquering God but didn't know how to use this power.
But.
"Can you use the energy of Demon-Conquering, Divine Maiden?"
[Yes. All Divine Maidens learn it.]
"Then could you teach me the method?"
[To the Heavenly Demon?]
"Yeah. I gained a trait called Demon-Conquering God, but I don't know how to use it."
This was the time to learn from the Divine Maiden.
[To handle the energy of Demon-Conquering, you must perform a special ritual in front of the Sacred Fire.]
"The Sacred Fire is in Ten Thousand Demon Battle."
[Oh…… Then that's perfect. I'll teach you the Sacred Fire ritual!]
The Divine Maiden Ghost said that by performing the Sacred Fire ritual, he could handle the energy of Demon-Conquering.
She settled down on the ground.
[Now. Let's pretend that portal is the Sacred Fire.]
Pointing to Nero's portal that was refusing entry.
Swoosh. Swish.
She began dancing in a reverent posture on the ground.
"……Why are you suddenly dancing?"
[It's not just dancing. It's performing a ritual in front of the Sacred Fire, vowing to live as a Divine Maiden for life. You have to do this to handle the energy of Demon-Conquering!]
"I have to receive the Sacred Fire's permission while dancing?"
[That's right!]
The Divine Maiden Ghost continued dancing while saying this.
Lee Ganghan watched her fluttering clothes and thought.
'I'll just ask the Sacred Fire directly.'
He'd ask when the Sacred Fire upgrade was finished.
Lee Ganghan thought this and waited for the Divine Maiden's dance to end.
[See…… It's not difficult, right?]
"Yeah. But I have no intention of dancing."
[Why not?!]
"I'll just try asking the Sacred Fire directly, since we communicate well."
[Hey. You should still perform the Sacred Fire ritual! That's how you express sincerity!]
The Divine Maiden Ghost was disappointed when Lee Ganghan said he wouldn't dance.
[Ah. But at the very end of the ritual, you have to put the Demon-Conquering Heavenly Ascension Blade into the Sacred Fire and take it out…… There's no sword.]
At the end, she mentioned the 'Demon-Conquering Heavenly Ascension Blade'.
***
"Demon-Conquering Heavenly Ascension Blade?"
[Yes. It's the sword used by Divine Maidens. It's a sacred relic of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect that has been passed down from the first Divine Maiden.]
So the Demon-Conquering Heavenly Ascension Blade was also a Divine Maiden's sword.
Lee Ganghan recalled the sword Yoo Doa had used and said.
"That was the 2nd place reward in Heavenly Demon Valley."
[What? Uh…… Do you remember what happened in Heavenly Demon Valley?]
"The Divine Maiden who carved Ma on me showed me a video."
Lee Ganghan talked about the video Yoo Doa had shown him.
After stat numbers appeared, the test in Heavenly Demon Valley was conducted based on whether you surpassed them or not.
Yoo Doa, who had been in 1st place, committed suicide multiple times.
Eventually making Lee Ganghan 1st place, and she obtained the Demon-Conquering Heavenly Ascension Blade.
The Divine Maiden Ghost tilted her head.
[To give up the Heavenly Demon position while killing herself…… Why did she do that?]
"I don't know. She seemed to know something, saying being the Heavenly Demon was tiresome."
[But to become a Divine Maiden because of that……. Being a Divine Maiden is much worse than being the Heavenly Demon!]
This felt like office workers complaining that their job was the hardest.
[If you become a Divine Maiden, you can't get married, you have to perform rituals in front of the Sacred Fire at least twice a day, and you have to memorize not only the lengthy Heavenly Demon Divine Art but also other scriptures. Moreover, the Heavenly Mandate Tower is a men-forbidden area…….]
As the Divine Maiden Ghost endlessly explained the disadvantages of being a Divine Maiden, Lee Ganghan quickly cut her off.
"Ah, I get it. I'll absolutely never become a Divine Maiden, so stop reciting the disadvantages."
[Yes! Being a Divine Maiden is really a terrible job! I have no idea what that woman was thinking.]
The Divine Maiden Ghost completely couldn't understand Yoo Doa, wondering why she chose to be a Divine Maiden instead of the Heavenly Demon.
'I still don't understand why she committed suicide to pass the Heavenly Demon position to me.'
He had hoped to get some clues by meeting and talking with the Divine Maiden Ghost.
But all he heard was how terrible a job being a Divine Maiden was.
After listening to the Divine Maiden Ghost's lamentations, Lee Ganghan thought.
'I've talked about everything worth discussing.'
He felt he had received all the consultation he could from the Divine Maiden Ghost.
Although there were quite a few unresolved questions even after the conversation, he had learned many new facts.
'Nero's refusal to let me enter has actually been good so far.'
Originally, he would have been thrown into battle immediately, so he couldn't have had a leisurely conversation.
Thanks to Nero's eccentric behavior, he was able to share what happened in reality with the Divine Maiden Ghost and obtain a lot of new information.
Just.
'What should I do now?'
Since he had discussed everything worth discussing, he hoped to enter the Golden Palace again.
When Lee Ganghan approached the portal, the barrier bounced him back.
Ding!
['Jester of Pride' declares that the following conditions must be met before allowing entry.
1. Apology for Golden Palace plunder and execution of all Goblin bandits
2. Securing 100,000 simultaneous viewers
If both conditions are not met, entry to the Golden Palace is impossible.]
The message that had appeared earlier came up again.
'The conditions are really strict.'
Executing the Goblins was an absurd condition, and how was he supposed to secure 100,000 different race viewers?
'Still, let me try turning on TowerTube.'
Given that the Golden Fragrance merchants also knew he had defeated Gershu, maybe the different race viewers wouldn't be as pitiful in number as last time?
Lee Ganghan thought this and turned on TowerTube's 'Special Streaming'.
Then.
-Is this the one...? The player who defeated Gershu
-He defeated Gershu? This human?
-He doesn't look that outstanding
-Did he really win? Isn't it a false rumor...
-The Orc ranking did switch with Golden Fragrance
Chat messages were definitely coming up much more than before.
The viewer count was also 594, significantly higher than the previous 53.
'The viewers have increased…….'
But compared to Nero's standard of 100,000, it was still far from enough.
Of course, since he had just started broadcasting, the numbers were increasing in real-time.
But it still seemed unlikely to meet the 100,000 standard.
[This is troublesome. Can't we just smash the barrier?]
"You want to completely destroy the barrier?"
[Yes. It looks like it can be attacked.]
Since it wasn't completely blocking entry but was blocked by a barrier, the Divine Maiden Ghost suggested breaking through the shield to enter.
'Let me try it once.'
Swoosh.
Lee Ganghan spread his palm.
Heavenly Demon Divine Palm
Heaven-Breaking Meteor Palm
A red flash extending in a straight line.
As it touched the barrier surface.
Sizzle……!
The light trajectory bent 90 degrees.
The Heaven-Breaking Meteor Palm was deflected in another direction.
Then.
Crash, crash, boom……!
With a loud explosion, part of the wall on the side collapsed.
'Hmm? That wall…… it could be broken?'
This space had been dark before the portal appeared, so he didn't even know there was a wall.
But after the red portal appeared, what was visible was an empty internal space and a black wall separating the exterior from the interior.
Until now, he had only thought about entering the portal and never had the idea of breaking the wall.
'What's beyond the wall?'
The wall now had a large hole due to the Heaven-Breaking Meteor Palm.
Lee Ganghan approached that direction with curious eyes.