Prologue: The Heavenly Demon's Heir
Once upon a time, the Heavenly Demon descended upon the world. Above all else... she was breathtakingly beautiful. Her lustrous hair cascaded down past her calves, her crimson eyes sparkled like flawless rubies, and her porcelain complexion was framed by alluring, sensual lips. Even draped modestly from collar to toe in midnight-black robes, the bewitching curves of her figure could not be concealed.
Men and women alike lost their senses in her presence, gazing upon her in helpless adoration. The ancient phrase a beauty capable of toppling nations seemed coined for her alone.
Yet, not a single soul dared offer their hand in marriage, nor did anyone entertain the thought of laying a finger on her.
And with good reason—she was an unprecedented, bloodthirsty fiend without equal beneath the heavens.
Sweeping across the continent, she battered down the gates of countless martial sects, slaughtering anyone unfortunate enough to cross her path. It mattered nothing whether they were ordinary folk devoid of internal energy or the revered grandmasters of illustrious clans; she reaped their heads and tore out their beating hearts with absolute indifference.
Pushed to the brink of annihilation, the Orthodox factions banded together to form the Murim Alliance. Countless righteous warriors rallied to the cause, marching forth with the singular purpose of taking her head.
The campaign ended in catastrophic defeat.
The Heavenly Demon was a monster of unprecedented talent, having reached the ultimate summit of the martial path: the Realm of Life and Death.
Even the supreme rulers of the Alliance, the grand leaders of the great sects, stood merely at the Realm of Transformation—two full stages beneath her. As for the vast sea of foot soldiers, most had never even climbed beyond the tier of a first-rate warrior. To put it into perspective, it was like setting a swarm of ants and a handful of puppies against a fully grown tiger.
Through some miraculous stroke of fortune, the Heavenly Demon abruptly halted her rampage. Withdrawing to the base of a jagged, rocky mountain, she erected a sprawling fortress and retreated into seclusion. No one understood why she had stopped, but the entire continent breathed a collective sigh of relief at the sudden arrival of peace.
That relief curdled back into terror, however, once the truth behind her actions was revealed. She had orchestrated the entire bloodbath simply because she found it amusing, and she had abandoned it purely because she grew bored. Appalled by her capricious nature, the Orthodox warriors remained perpetually on edge, bracing themselves for the day her murderous whims might strike again.
Hoping that time would weaken her was an exercise in futility. After all, those who stepped into the Realm of Life and Death transcended mortal limitations; old age and disease had no hold over them.
Centuries drifted by. While the Heavenly Demon remained secluded within her palace and the Orthodox sects kept their anxious vigil, prominent figures of the Unorthodox faction began trickling toward her domain one by one. They yearned to gaze upon her overwhelming might with their own eyes, desperate to glean even a fragment of her profound power.
Surprisingly, she neither slaughtered nor turned away the wanderers who gathered at her gates. In time, a colossal organization naturally took shape around her, and that once-isolated palace came to be known across the lands as the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Countless years have passed since then, bringing us to the present day.
This is the Heavenly Demon Cult. To anyone who has ever taken a single step into the martial world, whether walking the righteous path or wandering among the unorthodox, its name is etched into memory. The land governed by the Heavenly Demon. The undisputed pinnacle of the Unorthodox faction.
It is also the place where I was born, and the realm ruled by my mother.
That is right. I am... the son of the Heavenly Demon.