Hua-

The fire on the altar burned high and bright. Even though the festival had not started yet, the people were already passionately cheering. 

It was because of what this fire meant to those of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. 

The Divine Flame of the Heavenly Demon.

The flame used by the Heavenly Demon was commonly considered to be the Divine Flame. 

But it was more correct to call it the Divine Shaped Flame, a manifestation of the true flame. 

There was only one flame in the Cult that embodied the true meaning: the translucent flame burning upon the sacred altar. Also known as the Remains of the Divine Flame, it was one of the many things the First Heavenly Demon had left in this world. 

The Divine Flame was the root of all demonic arts. Thus, it had a mysterious power that stimulated the souls of all demonic practitioners. 

Chun A-young, who was looking at the Divine Flame, also felt that she was not different from the others. It seemed like the flickering resonated with her heartbeat. 

So that’s the real Divine Flame.

Suddenly filled with inexplicable emotion, A-young almost shed a tear. The flame felt warm, radiant, and frenzied at the same time. Even just looking at it from afar, she could feel the sacred energy. 

Wondering what it would be like closer to the flame, A-young turned her gaze to the Divine Maiden, who stood closest to the altar. The near seventy-year-old woman was holding her hands together in prayer. 

The Divine Flame was not open to the public except during events like the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame. It simply stayed inside the Divine Maiden’s palace. 

But there were two people within the Cult who could face the Divine Flame at all times. 

The first, of course, was the top of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon was always allowed to face the flame, but that didn’t mean he had any special communication with it. 

Unlike the Heavenly Demon, the Divine Maiden was able to communicate with the spirit of the Divine Flame. 

A Divine Maiden was chosen by the spirit of Divine Flame, destined to serve the Divine Flame and the Heavenly Demon her whole life. 

There was no option to refuse. 

‘Serving her whole life’ could mean marrying the Cult Leader. However, if the Heavenly Demon refused to recognize her as his spouse, that would mean a life of solitude. 

I wonder what kind of thoughts she’s had her whole life. 

The current Divine Maiden was of the latter group. 

It was not uncommon for the people to mourn the fate of such a lady. However, the current Divine Maiden was not at all dissatisfied with the life she led. Just by communicating with the spirit, she felt happy. 

A-young’s gaze began to move slowly, now directed towards the throne placed at the highest point of the stands. It was still empty, but anyone could easily guess that it belonged to the Heavenly Demon.

Only one person in the Demonic Cult could sit above everyone else. 

Her gaze was shaking. How much effort had she put into catching her father’s eye and becoming the next Heavenly Demon? 

In that sense, this banquet was definitely a place of opportunity. 

I need to show you my skills this time.

Chun A-young clenched her fist tightly. 

At the same time, another person’s description flitted through her mind. Not her father, Chun Hwi, but a completely different face. As she remembered him, A-young could not help but scold herself.

Hyuk Woon-seong.

Her interest in him had been out of pure curiosity at first. Still a naive child then, she had been curious about how Number 900 suddenly became so strong. The next emotion was competitive spirit, as she felt like she had found a strong opponent. Such rivalry turned into jealousy after Woon-seong revealed his skills.

She admitted it. 

Woon-seong is strong enough to impress my father.

That was why she wanted to beat him even more, hoping to use his reputation to boost hers. A-young wanted to be recognized by her father too. 

Thinking about it, A-young looked around. She could not find Woon-seong in the crowd. However, her eyes burned brighter and brighter. 

Finally, someone appeared on the throne. 

The Heavenly Demon had arrived.

Baek Woon-ji looked around nervously.

Soon, the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame would begin. However, there was still no sign of Woon-seong anywhere.

Out of habit, Baek Woon-ji chewed on her fingernails. Maybe something happened to Captain.

Of course, there were many people gathered here. Not only martial artists, but also ordinary believers of the religion. There were probably a few thousand people gathered for this day. It would be hard to find anyone in this situation. 

Nevertheless, she eagerly perused the crowd for her captain.

I don’t see him.

She eventually lowered her head in disappointment. 

It was when the Heavenly Demon ascended to the throne that a voice came from behind her.

“You’ve gotten stronger.”

A low, yet heavy, familiar voice. Baek Woon-ji turned her head to glare. “Captain!” 

And there was a familiar face.

She noticed slightly longer, messier hair, and an old, dark, discolored outfit. 

Woon-seong smiled bitterly as he felt Baek Woon-ji’s lingering gaze on his clothes. Having heard the cheers, he hadn’t been able to change his clothes in time.

“Shall I bring you some new clothes?” Baek Woon-ji had a pensive look on her face. 

Woon-seong shook his head, “I thought we were here to attend the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame.”

Woon-ji nodded quietly, they were both martial artists and Woon-seong was a Great Demon.

“Then I don’t want you to get my clothes, but for you to bring me good results today.”

Baek Woon-ji nodded once more at these words. Clothing didn’t matter. It wasn’t about how you looked, but about how much you had grown. 

Woon-seong looked towards the Heavenly Demon, who was standing in front of his throne. He was opening a celebration that would showcase the progress and glory of the Cult. 

There was a strange aspiration in Woon-seong’s eyes as he watched the Heavenly Demon.

I wonder how close you and I are.

Of course, Woon-seong understood he had a long way to go. It would be hard to get revenge for his master without the appropriate level of skill. A high seat within the Cult, or maybe unparalleled skills. You must have both or you must have either, but revenge was certain. 

Woon-seong stared at the Heavenly Demon with blazing eyes and tightly grasped the White Night Spear. 

As if in tune with his mind, the spear trembled.

As Woon-seong stared at the Heavenly Demon, Baek Woon-ji continued to stare at the young man before her.

He told me that I’ve become stronger.

His words echoed in her mind, her body trembling just thinking of his voice and from the excitement of recognition. Her eyes roamed Woon-seong’s body. 

You look a little taller and your skin looks a little better….

Baek Woon-ji may have grown up in the Cave of Latent Demons and practiced demonic arts, but she was still a young woman. Suddenly, she noticed all these changes in Woon-seong. She wanted to ask him about it. “Captain, your appearance…”

But she got interrupted. 

“Then, we shall begin the Banquet of the heavenly Mountain and the Divine Flame!”

Baek Woon-ji’s words were buried in the cheering that erupted after the Heavenly Demon’s speech. 

“Woahhhhhh!” 

The festival had begun!

The Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame took place on four large stages, conducted over the course of a single day. During this single day though, numerous demonic practitioners experienced drastic changes in rank. 

Of course, these changes were strictly based on one-on-one challenges. Since performance was not judged by the accumulation of wins, each challenge was almost always a fight to the death.

Stand on the stage while risking your life to go higher, or maintain your current status and preserve your life. 

Today was a day where hundreds of demonic practitioners would die and their ranks would get filled with others. 

That was the true nature of the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame.

There were those who did not want to die and sat outside the stage, merely watching the matches. 

Many people were injured as their rankings rose and fell. Amongst them, there were those who would rather die valiantly, stupidly, than have their ranking stolen. 

As time went on, blood slicked the stages. A small break had to be called every now and then to drain the blood and clear the corpses.

Woon-seong was slowly examining the people. His gaze was on the Demonic Kings though, not on the Great Demons. 

Higher than the Great Demons… I’ll use this Banquet to become a Demonic King.

Woon-seong was currently trying to figure out which Demonic King to challenge. He was sure that he was still no match against a higher ranked one, but he felt ready to fight a lower ranked Demonic King. 

Although I’ll probably have to take three bracers off.

He was sure that he was stronger than all of the Great Demons, so he could probably fight a low-ranking Demonic King and have some strength to spare. 

If Woon-seong succeeded in his challenge, he would probably become the youngest Demonic King in the history of the Cult. 

Meanwhile, the matches continued. The person who was on the stage got a satisfactory ranking and stepped down without proceeding any further. 

At that moment, the crowd became rowdy again. Based on who was coming onstage, a great show was about to begin. 

“That man is going up!”

“Oooh!”

Kwak Soo-mil, Great Demon Rank 10…

Woon-seong stood to the side, observing the man and reciting his name in his mind. 

Kwak Soo-mil was the first high-ranking Great Demon to go onstage since the start of the Banquet.

Then Kwak Soo-mil opened his mouth, “I challenge the Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit!” 

“Ugh!” Chun A-young, who had just defeated her opponent on another stage, groaned in frustration. “Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit?”

Damn it, someone got to him first…

A-young anxiously turned to look at Woon-seong, waiting to hear his answer. Accepting the challenge or not was completely up to him. 

But nothing was more shameful than running from a fight. 

That was why most demons of the Cult accepted, even if they were bound to die. 

However, this was different. 

Conventionally, if a higher demon challenged you, you would not accept. The Banquet was designed for a lower ranked practitioner to advance in status, not for those at the top to bully the weaker. In this case, even if Woon-seong avoided the challenge, he wouldn’t be ridiculed. 

But there was a problem: the nature of Hyuk Woon-seong. 

Although A-young wasn’t intimate with Woon-seong, she knew that he was not one to back down. 

And just as she predicted, she heard him agree.

“I accept your challenge.”

Chuck-

Woon-seong leapt from the seats and dropped down towards the stage.