The Three Emperors Gather
“That’s far enough.”
Just as Jeok-wol, following Myeong-yun’s command, was about to sweep away every warrior of the Four Heavenly Towers, someone stepped in front of her.
The towering figure who had suddenly appeared and blocked Jeok-wol’s razor-sharp leg with his forearm was a man Myeong-yun recognized.
“Move aside! Are you interfering with this lady’s affairs?”
“Jeok-wol, you know full well that doing something like this will bring no benefit to the Demonic Cult.”
Indeed, this was no different from the Demonic Cult declaring war on the Four Heavenly Towers.
She had only moved because of Myeong-yun’s order; from the perspective of the factions involved, it was the same as shaking the entire Sleepless City.
Jeok-wol was not the sort to ignore such consequences. She withdrew her leg and sheathed her blades.
Jeok-wol stepped back and took her place at Myeong-yun’s side.
With the appearance of Geowan Yeolgwon, a master of equal caliber, she could no longer act freely.
Myeong-yun regarded the man and spoke.
“The friend I met in the back alleys.”
“…I never expected to see you again in a place like this. What business brings you to the Four Heavenly Towers?”
“Nothing special. I merely came to see the Lord of the Four Heavens.”
“If you have a message, I will deliver it. The Lord of Heaven will not welcome a meeting of this nature.”
“If he had simply agreed to meet, none of this would have been necessary.”
Neither the Lord of the Demonic Cult nor the Lord of the Four Heavens would see him.
The phrasing was a little odd, but Myeong-yun shrugged and continued.
“Then I shall ask you to deliver a message. One day from now, in the Sleepless City, let us determine who is the greatest martial artist under heaven.”
“…Is that all you wish me to convey?”
“Yes. If he does not come tomorrow, This Lord will seek him out personally once more.”
“Understood. However, I cannot guarantee that the Lord of Heaven will move.”
“Tell him the Heavenly Demon will appear.”
“…! Understood.”
“Then my business here is finished. Jeok-wol, we return.”
Having concluded his affairs, Myeong-yun turned and descended the Four Heavenly Towers with Jeok-wol, this time striding boldly through the main entrance rather than a window.
“W-what are you planning? What nonsense is this?”
“Nonsense?”
Jeok-wol nodded.
The idea that the Heavenly Demon would appear at a gathering to discuss supremacy under heaven was absurd. The current Heavenly Demon was in seclusion and would remain so for several more days. The intelligence network of the Four Heavens would surely know this. If the Lord of the Four Heavens possessed any sense, he would not respond to Myeong-yun’s words.
Yet Myeong-yun merely chuckled and shook his head.
“This Lord has spoken no falsehood. This Lord is the Heavenly Demon, and wherever This Lord stands is the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. How could that be a lie? Moreover, since I brought you along…”
At his words, Jeok-wol’s expression shifted to one of realization.
She was a renowned high-ranking expert of the Demonic Cult, her face and name widely known. The fact that Myeong-yun treated her like a subordinate and ordered her about lent credibility to his claim.
“Now then, let us move on to the next.”
“Next…?”
“A gathering to discuss supremacy under heaven cannot be complete with only two. At the very least, the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns must assemble.”
“S-surely you don’t mean…”
“Indeed. It is time we brought this matter to a close. Also, mind your manners.”
Myeong-yun struck Jeok-wol’s forehead with the edge of his hand.
He wondered when she would ever learn proper etiquette.
Jeok-wol rubbed her forehead with both hands and muttered.
“…You intend to go to the Namgung Clan.”
“Yes. If we are to discuss supremacy under heaven, the righteous, demonic, and unorthodox factions must all gather, must they not?”
It was a custom passed down from ancient times—an indispensable element when debating who stood at the pinnacle.
“Tomorrow will surely be a delightful day.”
Myeong-yun took Jeok-wol to the headquarters of the Namgung Group and repeated the same actions he had performed at the Four Heavenly Towers.
He stormed the Namgung Group’s main building, knocked out every guard, and delivered a message to the chairman: appear tomorrow, for the Heavenly Demon, the Lord of the Four Heavens, and the Namgung Clan would all be present.
Then—
“Jeok-wol, you may return as well. Go to the Demonic Cult and tell the Cult Lord that the Lord of the Four Heavens and the Namgung Clan will appear. Tell him to come.”
“The Cult Lord is currently…”
“Do not speak of seclusion. I have already shown considerable leniency. I will be waiting at the place we first met.”
Myeong-yun sent Jeok-wol back to the Demonic Cult in a firm tone.
With this, all preparations to gather the leaders of the Demonic Cult, the orthodox faction, and the unorthodox faction in one place were complete.
If the heads of each faction dismissed his words as lies and failed to appear, he would crush them one by one. If they came, that alone would be entertaining.
Left alone for the first time in a while, Myeong-yun looked up at the sky and spoke.
“My viewers, are you not curious about the outcome?”
The live viewer count had already surpassed fifty thousand.
At this point, it was safe to say that not only the original subscribers who watched the Heavenly Demon’s streams, but viewers from every corner of the community had flocked to watch.
The diverse audience freely shared their opinions.
Most of his viewers were simply enjoying the overwhelming performance and absolute presence that no one else had shown them.
Even those familiar with Cyberpunk Murim had to acknowledge his physical prowess.
Some viewers were impressed by the new gimmick Myeong-yun had introduced.
Many would likely enter the world of Cyberpunk Murim because of his stream.
Perhaps they, too, could enjoy such a world.
What Myeong-yun had brought was not merely a trend, but a new current in the genre.
And finally, the usual strange ones.
“Hahaha.”
Myeong-yun let out a brief laugh at the flood of chat messages.
The viewers rejoiced along with him.
After reading the countless messages, Myeong-yun spoke his honest feelings without reservation.
“I was simply happy watching all of you. At first I did not understand, but this too is a form of joy.”
Myeong-yun now understood, to some extent, the words Sang-hyun had once spoken.
Viewers were the driving force behind a streamer. Myeong-yun had been satisfied with simply rebuilding the martial world within virtual reality.
But not anymore.
Now he wanted to create the martial world “together” with them.
“This Lord’s only joy used to be the pursuit of martial arts. Reaching the end of the strength This Lord sought was everything. But now it is different.”
Though the words might have sounded a little ticklish, the viewers accepted them positively.
Such interaction was precisely what strengthened the bond between streamer and fandom.
“This Lord still has much to show you. There are many martial arts This Lord wishes to demonstrate.”
“First, let us see the end of this story.”
Myeong-yun raised his head.
As with most games that prioritized content efficiency and immersion, time within the game flowed quickly.
One day in-game equated to roughly one hour in reality.
Since Myeong-yun had given them a day’s time, one hour of grace had been granted in the real world.
“Nearly an hour has passed.”
Time had flown by while chatting with the viewers.
Though he could have continued the broadcast the next day, it would have felt dragged out.
Myeong-yun wanted to see the game’s greatest masters as soon as possible, and Sang-hyun had also advised that prolonging it further might backfire.
‘Above all, now is the perfect moment.’
During the hour of waiting, word had apparently spread. The viewer count had exceeded sixty thousand.
It had broken the previous peak from Narak and continued climbing.
Even during the live stream, the short videos Sang-hyun had uploaded had already surpassed three hundred thousand views.
People who saw the shorts were also coming to the live broadcast.
‘Sang-hyun has provided plenty of fuel. Now it is up to me to make them mine.’
Myeong-yun slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Countless presences could be felt nearby. Masters had gathered.
“You have come.”
At Myeong-yun’s words, dozens of figures descended from all directions.
They surrounded him from three sides—martial artists of the jianghu, each armed and bearing grotesque cybernetic modifications, as if anticipating violent conflict.
Through the ranks of these lined-up warriors walked three supreme masters with unhurried steps.
The Lord of the Demonic Cult.
The Lord of the Four Heavens.
The Lord of the Namgung Clan.
The Three Emperors of the Sleepless City, the city of never-extinguishing neon signs, had arrived.
Myeong-yun looked at them and spoke.
“The sluggards have finally deigned to appear.”