Even if the same thing happens to two different people, the reactions from the populous could be very different. In a certain sense, this was only natural. Emotions, after all, were greatly influenced by a person’s disposition, situation, and desirability.

The same could be said for the choice of the Young Divine Maiden of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. 

“Is the news true? The Leader’s daughter became the Young Divine Maiden?”

“It is! I’m sure the Leader must feel relieved about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you get it? I’m talking about maintaining the bloodline of the Chun Family! The Young Leader and the Leader’s daughter get married and everything becomes fine.”

“Ah! I see! The bloodline of the Heavenly Demon continues and the two become a happily married couple!”

The roads were buzzing with the news and rumors, as people had seen the fire from the White Ape House the night before.

“Oh? So Chun A-young, the daughter of the Leader, is the one chosen as the next Divine Maiden.”

Joo Moon-baek, who had just heard the story, smiled to himself.

This is odd… This was a different reaction than what Young [1], his subordinate, had expected. Considering his nature, I would’ve expected the Vice Leader to react more negatively. Although they say that the Divine Maiden has become more of a symbolic position, it still shows massive influence amongst the ordinary believers. Chun A-young, the daughter of the current leader, becoming the Divine Maiden would only work against the Vice Leader. It’s obvious that she will side with her father…  yet he’s showing a smile.

However, Young did not dare to ask Joo Moon-baek about his thoughts. Instead, he finished reporting and stepped to the side. 

Meanwhile, Joo Moon-baek’s eyes had taken on a weird light. 

“Hmm.” The Vice Leader tapped on his chin, thinking to himself. 

I’ve kept an eye on her since her childhood. I’ve always thought she would become quite a beauty when she grows old enough. I always wondered why she disappeared about a decade ago… Being in the White Ape Unit must mean she has been in the Cave of Latent Demons. She has always done her best to impress her father since she was young, so it’s not too surprising of a choice. But now that she’s chosen as the Divine Maiden, her dreams must have met their end. 

Joo Moon-baek smiled, thinking back to Chun A-young’s appearance. If she was the Captain of the White Ape Unit, he had seen her once. 

I’ve been thinking that she was a beauty good enough to quench my surging thirst caused by the ‘Art of the Soul Splitting Flame King’. And that’s why I’ve been anticipating for the day that I would drag the Captain of the White Ape Unit into my bedroom… So she was the daughter of the Leader all along? It looks like 10 years is enough to transform a child into a full grown lady. I want to seize her immediately. 

No matter how strong Joo Moon-baek’s personal beliefs were, he was still the Vice Leader of the Cult. Actually, his position was stressful. While he needed to keep up appearances, it made his lust boil that much stronger in search of release. He cultivated an art that strongly divided Yin and Yang, but focused on the Yang aspect. Thus, he felt intolerable thirst towards sources of Yin. 

No, now’s not the time. A premature move always spoils the plan. 

However, just because he was patient didn’t mean he could tolerate it. Joo Moon-baek reached over for his glass of water. He would quench his burning desire by holding another woman today.

It won’t be bad to seize her at that very moment, when the time comes and I bring down the Heavenly Demon. A woman taken by the very man who had dragged down her father. 

Joo Moon-baek was almost drooling, but he smiled. 

Not bad. And in case things go south, I can always use that method!

Joo Moon-baek smiled, showing his white fangs. 

That smile, what could be said?

“Hahahaha! A misfortune can also become a blessing, they say! It seems like those words are correct. Haha!”

It was only a matter of time before the man stopped laughing though. 

As if he had become a different person, he asked his subordinate with piercing eyes. 

“Hmm. By the way, what is he doing now?”

“He’s a much higher level martial artist compared to our last partner… So we’re having trouble keeping an eye on him. But one thing for sure is…”

“One thing for sure?”

“He’s confining himself in his place.”

Joo Moon-baek muttered the name as if he didn’t like the other very much. “The ‘Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’, huh…”

.

A man crouched over the figure of a woman, both panting heavily. 

“Uagh!”

The woman moaned, as if in pain. It was unknown whether it was from the sexual intercourse or something else. 

However, the appearance of the woman gradually changed, proving that the current exchange had nothing to do with passion. 

Dark spots slowly bloomed all over her skin. Subsequently, wrinkles began to appear and the woman’s body began to wither. 

The woman reached out and tried to push away the man laying on her. 

However, it was impossible. Her body had aged and the degraded strength was not enough to push away a strong man. 

“Uagh…”

As her body grew older, even the woman’s moans became weaker. As her voice faded, the eyes of the man became brighter and brighter. Life was spilling out! He licked his lips, excited by the act of taking someone else’s life. 

And finally, when the woman breathed her last, the man slowly got up. The woman fell to the ground, becoming a shriveled corpse.

“Hmm.” The man stared at the body in disgust. “I know it’s my own work of art, but it’s still hideous to see.”

He kicked at the body with his foot, pushing it off of his bed and into the middle of the room. Remnants of blood and bodily fluid soiled the carpet. With a wave of his hand, the man burned the corpse into ashes with a fire. Then, a gust of wind blew the ashes apart. 

“Be thankful, woman. I’m even cleaning up for you, heh-heh. Call in the Imperial Unit.”

Tha guard standing on duty immediately called out, “The Emperor is calling the Imperial Unit. Go report immediately!”

“Yes, sir.”

Soon, at the Emperor’s command, a man stood with his head bowed before him.

The Emperor smiled satisfactorily. 

“Report.”

The other man didn’t even have to think. 

“The secret vault of the ‘Sword Emperor of Ice and Light’ has recently collapsed and 1,248 Orthodox Sect individuals have lost their lives. The victims include elders from the Ten Major Sects and people from many other smaller ones. If we include the victims from any and all related events, the total casualties are around 2,000. About 30 have retired from the martial society after being severely injured. And of course, those who have retired are all at least first-class level martial artists.”

The so-called secret vault of the ‘Sword Emperor of Ice and Light’ had been big news ever since it was first discovered. When the Vault had been discovered, the Orthodox Sects had called it a ‘major blessing’… 

Not only did martial artists start a mudslinging battle over the rights of the Vault, it was all in vain. In the end, the Vault collapsed and killed everyone inside it. On top of that, the contents that were salvaged were identified to be fakes. 

It was far from a blessing, becoming more of a calamity. 

“The results were far more than what we had planned. It is safe to say you can be satisfied.”

“Hmm. Good… I mean, not bad. Since the Imperial Court has set foot in this matter, it only makes sense that we achieve this much.”

The government and the martial society leave each other alone. That was a very basic rule which even the youngest members of the smallest sects were aware of. 

But just like how the martial society kept an eye on the government, the government did the same. Because martial artists were capable of destroying the elegant ruling system with overwhelming force, the government and the Imperial Court had actually interfered in a number of events. 

However, this was the largest involvement ever since the ‘Martial Society Annihilation Plan’, a plan that was conducted over several centuries but only ended up in a failure. 

If Murim became aware of this current involvement, there would be an uproar about how the Imperial Court was planning another annihilation. 

However, the Emperor and his Imperial Court’s target wasn’t limited to Zhongyuan…

“What happened to the Demonic Cult?”

The cult he was referring to was obviously the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. 

The subordinate shook his head. “It looks like that side of things will take some more time.”

“Hmm?” The Emperor glanced down and frowned slightly, obviously annoyed. It’ s already been several years since we conducted our plan against the Demonic Cult. And yet… 

“The Demonic Cult is virtually a religious group, which makes it an open and a closed group at the same time.”

The subordinate gave a plausible reason. It seemed that the Emperor agreed, as he nodded his head, indicating for the other to continue. 

“This special nature of theirs is hindering our plans. However, we have reports that the ‘Moon Splitting Heavenly Demon’ has been successfully poisoned. It will not take long for us to see the results.”

“‘Not take long’, you say. And how long do you think this is going to be?”

The subordinate was silent for a few moments, reflecting. 

“We received the reports of the poisoning 6 months ago. It’s about time that the Heavenly Demon himself has realized that he has been poisoned. Actually, it’s more likely that he realized long ago. Now, it should be near the point where resisting becomes impossible.”

“Which means…?”

“A major event will occur in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon within a month.”

The Emperor relaxed and smiled down at his subordinate. After a moment, he glanced to the side and tapped his chin. 

“By the way, who was the man we sent to the Cult this time?”

“Do you mean the ‘Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’?”

“Oh, that’s right.” The Emperor thought of the man in question and laughed. “‘Oblivion’ in the sense that he deceives and tricks his enemies into oblivion. It’s quite the perfect nickname for him.”