“The peak you are climbing right now is the Peak of the Heavenly Demon’s Majesty… And as you are all aware, at the top is the Heavenly Palace. Be proud of yourselves. Not many have been given the chance to enter at your age.” 

Sang In-hyo was leading the Latent Demons up the mountain. The three squad leaders, including Woon-seong and A-young, walked behind him. Subsequently, their squad members lined up behind them. 

Sabak-Sabak-

As they approached the top, the snow piled up under their feet only increased, and Sang In-hyo continued to murmur as they walked. Most of what he said were the rules and courtesies of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon to be observed in the palace. 

But Dal Mu-ji, formerly Number 109, was not properly listening to these words. As the snow drifted, his head turned to Woon-seong. Unlike A-young, who was simply conscious of Woon-seong’s existence, Dal Mu-ji did not bother to hide his jealousy and envy. 

He arrived before me?

Dal Mu-ji could not believe that Woon-seong would be so strong. 

He had been born as a Miao warrior and was confident in his own strength. Even inside the Cave, he was victorious. Of course, he was defeated by A-young once, but that was just because he let his guard down. Now that he knew about the Dark Flower Red Heart, if they fought again, he would win. 

This was the same with Number 900, he was confident in victory as long as he was alert. 

Thus, whenever he had the chance, Dal Mu-ji wanted to prove that he was the strongest of the trainees in the Cave of Latent Demons. For that, the mission was good as proof. With his position as the 3rd Latent Demon Squad Master, he could gain accomplishments by completing missions faster and more accurately than anyone else. But his plan had failed. Not only had the 1st Squad, led by Woon-seong, completed their mission, they had even helped the 2nd Squad. You cocky bastard, you’re only Number 900!!

Woon-seong felt this uncomfortable gaze towards himself and chuckled. Except for A-young, he had never thought anyone else in the Cave would show hostility towards him. Especially Dal Mu-ji, who had lost against Chun A-young and was less talented than Gwan Tae-ryang. 

But I can expose my fangs, if that’s what you want. A cold smile spread across Woon-seong’s face, mirroring the look in his eyes. He murmured to himself, conscious of Dal Mu-ji, who was still glaring at him. “It might be better for me to find a chance to take care of him.”

Meanwhile, their steps had brought them to the front of the palace. 

The Peak of the Heavenly Demon’s Majesty towered high to Heaven. A huge palace with four floors was built upon it. It was thought that the pavilion held by the dragon encircling pillars was the place where Chun Hwi, Leader of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, dwelled. 

Sang In-hyo saw the palace and reminded them in a low but stern voice once more, “Everyone, show your manners. This is the Heavenly Palace.”

Inside, the usually empty palace was packed with people. 

As he entered, Woon-seong confirmed the strengths of those who filled the place. Their strengths were similar to that of Sang In-hyo, some better and some worse. As there were no glaring differences, all those gathered in the seats had to be Great Demons. 

Woon-seong continued to look around as he thought to himself, Why are all the Great Demons gathered here?

Sang In-hyo led them to the center of the palace and shouted loudly, bowing low to the floor. 

“Long live the Cult! Hail the Immortal Heavenly Demon! I bow upon all Demons!” 

Then, having shown a great example of courtesy towards the Leader, he stepped off to the side and joined the other Great Demons. 

And so the only ones left in the center were those of the Cave. 

Thrown into such a situation, the Latent Demons expressed anxiety. They stood there shuffling their feet, staring blankly at each other and looking much like some lost ducklings.

Suddenly a huge presence engulfed the entire palace. 

“Nice to meet you.”

The words were spoken in a commanding tone, appearing together with the presence as if they had been there all along. 

Woon-seong was startled. Why didn’t I notice them before?

No, it was natural for Woon-seong not to notice. This person had been there the whole time, but they had failed to notice him. The boy realized what this meant and was astonished. There was such a difference in level that they couldn’t even notice the Heavenly Demon’s existence unless he allowed it! 

It makes sense that he claims to be the world’s best!

This was the ‘One Demon’ of the ‘Twin Stars and One Demon’, the ‘Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon’ Chun Hwi! 

Even Woon-seong’s former master, the ‘Spear Master’ Nok Yu, had only reached the level of the world’s best spearman. This was a level that you couldn’t even aim for unless you had the talent of a heavenly divine. 

While Woon-seong was amazed by Chun Hwi’s presence, the Leader continued to speak. “I heard it wasn’t perfect, but you have all finished your missions well.”

Hearing praises from the Leader, the faces of the 1st and 3rd Squads were bright. On the contrary, the expressions of A-young and the 2nd Squad were gloomy.

“This is a gathering to discuss the rewards for all of your achievements so far. So those who are proud may stand with their heads held high.” 

His words again caused the 2nd Squad members to become even more embarrassed. Again, the 1st and 3rd Squad were opposite. 

Only Woon-seong still had his head cocked to the side, trying to figure out even more of Chun Hwi’s strength. 

“I think that’s enough with the openings. Let us move on to the actual discussions…I believe we should start with the punishments. 2nd Latent Demon Squad, listen!” 

The Cult Leader’s voice was strong, causing the whole room to shake. 

A-young and the other members immediately got on one knee. “I listen upon our Leader!”

“Not only have you failed your mission, but you also received help from another squad. This proves your lack of abilities and strength. Do you concur?”

Chun A-young was obviously the daughter of Chun Hwi, this Woon-seong knew for a fact. Nevertheless, his voice towards his daughter was inexorable. Lessons were lessons. The Cult Leader seemed to draw a clear line between work and life. 

“Do you concur?”

A-young bit her lips as the Great Demons repeated the question in unison. She could only shake from the pressure and lower her head. “I concur.”

The Heavenly Demon nodded. “Good. Then I shall give you punishment. I order the 2nd Latent Demon Squad, including its Squad Master, to conduct closed training at the Valley of Thousand Spirits for half a year.”

“Yes, sir.”

They had no right to refuse, even though that sounded less like a punishment and more like a death sentence…

A thousand ghosts and spirits gathered in that valley. Unless they endured, they would not survive; the weak would be tormented to insanity, eventually turning into a vengeful spirit themselves. 

Despite this, Chun Hwi was calm as he looked at the 1st and 3rd Squads. “That was all for the punishment. Next, the rewards.” 

As he spoke, his sight seemed to fall upon the spear, the one of black iron that Woon-seong was trying to cover. 

“1st Latent Demon Squad and 3rd Latent Demon Squad, listen!”

“I listen upon our Leader!” Both Woon-seong and Dal Mu-ji shouted like A-young had. 

“You have done a wonderful job. You have proved yourselves as worthy strike forces within the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Therefore I order…” 

Hundreds of eyes slowly widened as realization dawned. 

“The 1st Latent Demon Squad shall be promoted into the Charred Dragon Unit! The 3rd Latent Demon Squad shall be promoted into the White Ape Unit! The Charred Dragon Unit and the White Ape Unit are two of the Twelve Supporting Units that guard our Cult. Take your responsibilities seriously and I hope you all do your best for the Cult.”

At the end of his words, the eyes of the Great Demons shook. 

The Twelve Supporting Units each had between twenty and fifty members, with more than one Demonic General. These were some of the Cult’s elite forces, numbering less than 5,000. In addition, if the former troop disappeared for some reason, the next troop inherited the zodiac-derived name. Thus, the names of the Charred Dragon Unit and the White Ape Unit had existed since the founding. 

“If you have an objection, speak up!”

A few of the Great Demons flinched, then one bravely stood up. “We acknowledge the skills of the two Latent Demon Squads, but I believe that promoting them to the Twelve Supporting Units is excessive!”

After one man spoke, the others opened their mouths more easily.

“The Twelve Supporting Units are the elite forces of our Cult, in which every member is at least a Demonic Captain. That is an excessive position for those who have just finished their Cave of Latent Demons training!”

“We are worried that an important position of the Cult might be misrepresented by the senselessness of the young.”

“The Captains of the Twelve Supporting Units all possess the rank of Great Demon. The Squad Leaders of the 1st and 3rd Squads do not possess the necessary rank, my Lord!”

Woon-seong snorted. Dal Mu-ji’s and A-young’s levels were unknown to him, but Woon-seong clearly had the same ability level as the Great Demons. This had been proven when he killed the Blade Ogre of the Green Mountains by himself. 

Sure, this feat did not mean that Woon-seong could immediately join the rankings. 

Unlike the Demonic Generals, who were fluid in number, the Great Demons had a limited number: the number of Great Demons in the Cult was exactly 300. If someone wanted to become a new Great Demon, they had to first defeat an existing one. 

Since Woon-seong had yet to issue a challenge, it was true that he technically did not possess the rank of a Great Demon.

“It is so.” Neither Woon-seong or Dal Mu-ji had done so, Chun Hwi agreed with this. “Therefore, right now I shall allow the Squad Masters of the 1st and 3rd Latent Demon Squads to challenge for the rank of Great Demon.” 

As his words fell, the faces of the Great Demons paled. 

This was an exhibition that the Cult Leader was officially presiding over. When defeated, it was obvious that they would be demoted to Demonic Generals. In addition, the traditional confrontation was one of life or death. If you made a mistake, not only could you lose your rank, you could lose your life. 

Chun Hwi continued, ignoring what anyone else thought about his decision. 

“The time and location of the challenge shall be here and now. Squad Masters, each of you shall choose the Great Demon you want to challenge!” He then added some sarcastic words, almost to himself. “Conveniently, we happen to have all the Great Demons gathered here.”

How convenient indeed. 

It was now obvious why Chun Hwi had called them all here: he had anticipated the present situation. 

The original purpose of the Cave of Latent Demons is to replace the generations within the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Even so, I never imagined the Heavenly Demon to have such surprising decisiveness… 

Woon-seong suddenly felt that his heroic spirit and determination were less than the Cult Leader’s. Even so, he found this to be a good chance to prove his worth. 

He slowly looked up and began to assess the Great Demons, as he was commanded. “Hmm.”

When the eyes of the boy turned to them, the Great Demons looked uncomfortable. 

“Hmph.” Some were blindsided and felt threatened, glaring down at him. Somehow, a child was looking to join their ranks. 

Others, though, were just laughing to themselves. These were the ones confident in their abilities. Just as Woon-seong could read their qi presence, they could also read his. Considering their power, it was unlikely for Woon-seong to challenge them. If he was stupid enough to do so, they would just smack him around a little — it wouldn’t do to humiliate a weaker, younger opponent too much in front of the Leader.

Sang In-hyo was one of those unbothered. He smiled softly when his eyes met with Woon-seong’s, sending the boy an encouraging glance. 

The boy appeared even calmer after that, relaxing his shoulders. He finally spoke. “I will point to my opponent.” His eyes penetrated to the center of the group, where someone stood. 

“My opponent is…”

TN: Yes, I know that apes are not a part of the Chinese zodiac. Yes, apes and monkeys are different species, but let’s pretend they’re not; “White Monkey Unit” just sounds a bit weak.

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