The Heavenly Demon Takes Viewer Challenges

I turned on the stream from the main headquarters of the Divine Cult, my personal VR room in Hwaryong Muin. Even though it had been several days since my last broadcast, viewers flooded in at an impressive speed.

The chat was burning with complaints because I had simply gone silent and taken a break without a word. Still, since I had predicted this would happen even before turning on the stream, I wasn't particularly flustered. If you can anticipate something, you can prepare for it. And so, I had learned a secret technique from Enri!

“Listen well. While I was away from streaming, I did some thinking. It is true that I enjoy turning on broadcasts and communicating with all of you. But why should I be the one getting pushed around by you?”

“I have no trouble at all if I don't stream. But all of you would be troubled if you couldn't watch my broadcasts, wouldn't you?”

It had been strange from the very beginning. You people are the ones in a hurry, so why should I be the one getting dragged around by you? Why should I be the one wearing a leash around my neck!

Today, right here, I declare this. I will not live as your slave. I will become your master.

When I boldly stepped forward, the flames died down more easily than I expected. I was impressed. Enri had been right when she said that because my stream was so exclusive, even laying down an iron plate wouldn't change anything. Enri, your advice regarding broadcasting is truly effective.

However, while explaining this, she had also said something else.

‘Still, you shouldn't use this too often. It builds up bad karma. If something blows up later, it'll burn spectacularly.’

The best thing, she said, was to just stream consistently without any major incidents. I think I'll be able to do that from now on. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The process of establishing the Hwasan Sect was difficult, but now that it's done, there isn't that much work left. The teaching duties will be handled by Hak Yeong-chung anyway. As for the paperwork, Siyugeom will take care of it, won't he? All I have to do is occasionally show my face and approve things. And if something truly important happens, I just need to step in with my martial prowess. Isn't that what a sect leader is supposed to do? Not standing on the front lines, but becoming the center of the sect at critical moments.

“I plan to turn on Apis again after so long.”

“I won't be climbing the ranks. There's no reason to.”

The only reason I had wanted to raise my rank before was to gain the authority needed to teach others the principles. Now that I have built the Hwasan Sect in Hwaryong Muin and possess that authority, I no longer have any reason to obsess over ranks. Unless something comes up, I probably won't bother grinding ranks anymore.

“What I'm doing today is viewer participation content.”

“Last time during the Hwasan Sect test, I told the applicants to try moving my feet. But none of them succeeded. Many people found that strange. No matter how strong I am, they said, how could it make sense that they couldn't even move one of my feet?”

Most people simply dismissed it by thinking I was some absurd monster, but among them were those who poured unfair criticism on the applicants. Let me state this clearly: the Hwasan applicants were quite skilled by modern standards. They had far better ability than the people I met while playing ranked games in Apis. If they had chosen characters with inner energy in Apis and fought, I'm confident they would have reached at least higher than Enri. For such people to be criticized even after giving their all—it was unfair. So shouldn't I show my true skill to ease their resentment?

“Therefore, I will grant all of you the right to challenge me. Try to make my feet leave the ground. If anyone succeeds, I will give chicken to those who succeed.”

Simply giving you the chance to challenge me is already an act of great mercy, and on top of that, I even promise a reward for those who manage to defeat me. Ah, even I think I'm too soft for my own good.

Good. If there's no motivation from the start, it's no fun. If no challengers come forward, then the opportunity I went out of my way to give would be meaningless. I immediately logged into Apis and created a separate room. At this point, even I can do this without much difficulty.

“What are you talking about? Didn't I make it properly?”

Creating a personal room is done like this, isn't it? I learned it by watching Enri do it beside her and copying with my eyes.

I spoke confidently, but the process wasn't exactly smooth. I even got suspected of receiving sponsorship from a dental clinic. I claimed innocence, but the viewers didn't easily believe me. Only after about ten minutes did I finally succeed in creating a proper room.

“Alright. Now come on in.”

The moment I spoke, a viewer entered from the opposite side. As soon as he revealed his appearance, he looked around and let out a cheer.

“Hello, Hwaryeong-nim!”

“Yes. Nice to meet you. Are you here to challenge me?”

“Yes!”

“Do you have confidence?”

“I don't!”

His smile was so bright and innocent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I lost my words for a moment. If you have no confidence in winning, why did you even come?

“I will explain the rules. It's simple. Using any means necessary, make my feet leave the ground before time runs out. It's a single round. Success means chicken.”

“You're going to use the Heavenly Demon, right?”

“No. I will use the Dragon Hunter.”

In Hwaryong Muin, I moved with a First-class body, but here my body is at the Transcendence Realm. The gap between the two is so vast that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's immeasurable. If I chose the Heavenly Demon, it wouldn't be fair, would it? Besides, this is 1:1, not 5:1, so it's right for me to take the penalty. That's why I chose the Dragon Hunter instead of my main character.

“Hmm. I see some possibility now.”

“Yes, yes. Now, choose the battlefield and show me your strategy.”

As the game began, the surrounding scenery changed. A desolate wasteland surrounded by spectator seats. This place with no obstacles at all was an arena. I had told him to choose the battlefield to actively use my stage, yet he picked such a plain, flavorless location. How boring.

I looked around and observed my opponent. In his hands was a massive greatbow. It was so huge it seemed like it could cover from an adult man's head to his thighs. Was he planning to trouble me with long-range attacks? This kind of strategy had been attempted by the Hwasan applicants before. They had suffered a miserable failure back then. So, does this person think that failure happened because the applicants lacked ability? And therefore believes that he could draw out my true power with a bow?

Hmm. If he has that much confidence in his own skill, he should show me something, shouldn't he?

“Let us begin.”

The moment the game started, my opponent drew his bowstring, and I saw formless energy overlay the arrow. Since I wasn't pressuring him, he was going all out with a sincere strike from the beginning. It looked so defenseless that if I threw my spear, it would pierce his head cleanly, but this place wasn't for fighting—it was for accepting his strategy, so I had to endure.

Soon the arrow flew. The arrow that surpassed sound carried immense power. It looked less like an arrow meant to pierce skin and more like a shell meant to pulverize everything around it. Not bad. But that's all.

With the flow of power so honest, it was practically screaming at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me to use its own attack against it. Shall I show him something interesting?

There is a technique called the Heaven and Earth Reversal Divine Art. It is one of the martial arts created by the Ming Cult side, and the principle contained within it is worthy of being called a divine art. Among the many things contained in this art is the ability to change the direction of power as I wish. For example, I could reverse the direction of an incoming arrow like the one just now and send it straight back at the opponent.

The opponent, who suddenly found himself in danger of being hit by his own arrow, threw away his bow and desperately rolled to the side to dodge. After rolling on the ground and getting covered in dirt, he looked at me with a dazed face and shouted.

“Isn't this too much?!”

“What is?”

“You're attacking!”

“I never once said I wouldn't attack.”

If he could be taken down by his own attack, then he probably didn't have the qualifications to face me in the first place. But...

“Now, what are you doing? Time is still left. Continue.”

“...Understood.”

The opponent picked up the bow that had fallen to the ground, gritted his teeth, and pulled out several arrows from his quiver, holding them in his hand. Then, with only the slightest interval between shots, he fired them in rapid succession. The movement of his hand drawing the bowstring was beautiful, like watching a work of art. It was a wonder that only someone who had devoted their entire life to the bow could display. I knew it was ultimately just movement supplemented by the system's correction, but it was still impressive. It would be fun to fight an archer who had honed such techniques. It's a shame I'll never get to meet one.

His rapid fire was admirable, but the power contained in those arrows wasn't as strong as the first greatbow shot. So instead of using the divine art, I simply swung my spear once and knocked down all the arrows. At that, a scream burst from the opponent's mouth.

“You're playing the game like shit!”

“Is that a compliment? Thank you.”