Three shadows were cast upon the floor by the glow of an oil lamp. Two shadows were bowing towards the one in front of them. 

“…”

The one who spoke first was the owner of the shadow standing on the right, “How was your meeting with the two?”

Surprisingly, this man was Sang In-hyo. 

The man who stood beside Sang In-hyo also raised his head, allowing the lamp to reveal his face. Unexpectedly, it was the man known as ‘Shadow’, who worked under the Vice Leader.

This was a meeting of the closest subordinates of the Vice Leader and the Young Leader.

Even more surprising was the identity of the third shadow standing before them: an old man.

With both Sang In-hyo and Shadow staring at him in earnest, the old man turned his head back with a soft murmur.

The light revealed that his old man was actually Lee Shin-jung, the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’!

“Hmm…,” the Demonic Teacher raised a wrinkled finger and scratched his face lightly. “First, the Joo Kid has something very similar, but I cannot say for sure that it’s the real thing. It’s similar, but incomplete and different.” 

The expression of Shadow darkened as Sang In-hyo’s expression brightened. 

But that was not the end of the old man’s words. 

“However, the Young Leader isn’t much different either. Compared to the Joo Kid, there’s a higher chance that the Young Leader is closer to the real one. However, he doesn’t know what he has yet.”

This time, Sang In-hyo had also stiffened. 

According to the Demonic Teacher, neither candidate fit the bill. 

“What do you plan to do?” Shadow asked.

Lee Shin-jung raised his hand to stroke his beard. “I should keep an eye on them for a bit longer. After all, we are the Unrecorded Demonic Group.”

Both Shadow and Sang In-hyo bowed their heads in acceptance. 

The Unrecorded Demonic Group. 

A group that remained outside of official Cult records, yet continued to help the Cult. 

Except, that wasn’t the only reason they were called the ‘Unrecorded Demonic Group’. 

“Our true master is the heir of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon, who will descend upon us one day,” Lee Shin-jung slowly muttered.

When that time came, Lee Shin-jung would choose. Should he help the Young Leader or the Vice Leader…

Or maybe it will be a completely different person… 

Even as Lee Shin-jung recited this truth to himself, the night was getting deeper and deeper as other things happened in the Cult. 

“Ugh.”

A stab of pain rushed through Joo Moon-baek’s chest and he patted his pockets, looking for a small piece of medicine. Finding it, he shoved it into his mouth without any hesitation. Once it was swallowed, the pain subsided. At the same time, his fingers, which had been trembling, also stilled. 

“Phew.”

Maybe it was because the pain was gone, but he let his hand fall from his chest with a relaxed expression. 

In his other hand, a grey flame rose from his fingertips. This was a Divine Shaped Flame, a result of cultivating the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon. 

But it was a little different from the flame created by the Heavenly Demon. The genuine flame had a red color, similar to real fire. Although, of course, it was more of a blood red color. 

Compared to that, the flame in Joo Moon-baek’s hand was grey. 

“The Divine Flame of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon…”

He looked at the flame burning across his fingertips. Not just its color, but the power intrinsically contained in the Divine Flame was reproduced. Naturally, as the Divine Flame of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon, the art and look was different. 

But it’s incomplete. A grey Divine Flame isn’t enough to prove that it’s the art of the Unrecorded Heavenly Demon. The Unrecorded Heavenly Demon’s Divine Flame possesses two characteristics… One is its grey color, which is different from the conventional Divine Flame. And the other one, which is also its flaw… is that possessing this Divine Flame disrupts the balance of the body. 

“Hmm.” 

Without medicine, I’m barely able to even walk around with this inside me… So… this is the price I have to pay for forcefully using the power of the Heavenly Demon. If I simply abandon this Divine Shaped Flame, my body will go back to being normal. 

But I cannot do that. 

The Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon is the symbol of legitimacy for becoming the ruler of the Cult. Without this power, I can never become the leader. I’ll have to bear with it using medicine. 

Joo Moon-baek sighed as he recalled the amount of medicine that he had left — a mere ten pills. 

But even with the medicine, I can only present the Divine Flame for fifteen minutes. And that’s why it’s considered incomplete… If it wasn’t for this problem, I would’ve proceeded with my plans more vigorously. 

Joo Moon-baek grit his teeth in frustration, but was interrupted by sounds from outside his door. “What is it?” he shouted, as he was accustomed to having visitors. 

“You have a guest, sir.”

As expected, he had a visitor. 

“A guest?” Joo Moon-baek tilted his head and looked out the window, where the moon was rising above the mountains. At this late in the night? Unknowingly, he clicked his tongue. “Who is it?”

The response was succinct, “The ‘Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’ is here.”

That response surprised Joo Moon-baek. He has never visited me since the first time he came here and formally met me. And he decides to visit me now? He had no idea why this man would come looking for him at this time. I can’t say I like this. Still, he only shook his head and said, “Let him in.”

As soon as he spoke, the door opened and someone walked in. 

It was a figure that appeared like a ghost. 

Of course, it was the ‘Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’, Hwan Dok. On his back was this sack of some sort, tied in a piece of black cloth. 

“It’s been a while. We didn’t have much of a chance to communicate, did we?”

The words of Joo Moon-baek were spoken like a taunt, but the other man spoke without a change in facial expression. “I just needed time to get used to the Cult.”

“So I assume you’re done adapting now.”

“Of course.” For the first time, a smile appeared on the Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’s face. “I wouldn’t have been making something interesting like this before I made myself comfortable.”

As he spoke, Hwan Dok set down whatever he was carrying on his back. With a thump, he also removed the cloth that covered it. 

“What…?!”

It was a man with a medium-pale complexion. Immediately, Joo Moon-baek’s attention was drawn in by the red pupils. 

Joo Moon-baek quickly reached out and grabbed the wrist of this man. 

He doesn’t have a pulse, but I can feel a faint sense of liveliness in his body… On top of that, there’s a strong sense of vile qi. 

Joo Moon-baek, coming to this conclusion, took a step back. 

“That thing is neither dead nor alive. It exists somewhere in between.” Hwan Dok casually explained, “A blood jiangshi [1].”

“So you’ve been spending your time making this?”

“Yes, but this was a test case, so I only used a second-rate demonic practitioner.”

“Hmm. A blood jiangshi made from a second-rate demonic practitioner…”

“But now that he’s a blood jiangshi, he can compete with a martial artist who’s about to ascend to first-rate.”

Joo Moon-baek tapped his chin with his finger. “And why, pray tell, are you showing me this?”

With a smile on his face, Hwan Dok responded, “I know that you’re not exactly in the best situation right now.”

“Hmm.”

Joo Moon-baek agreed to this in his heart. What if the Demonic Teacher stopped being neutral and took the Young Leader’s side? If that happened, it was clear that the demonic practitioners who took his side would immediately step down. No, not only would his subordinates abandon him, he would probably be removed from his position as Vice Leader by Woon-seong. 

Hwan Dok continued, “Which is why I would like to make a deal. Give me ten peak-level martial artists. I’ll make them into blood jiangshi and give them to you.”

“Ten peak-level martial artists?!” Joo Moon-baek exclaimed. “You’re talking about Great Demons and barely 300 of them exist within the Cult! And you want ten of them? You must be joking.”

“I’m not,” the Demonic Emperor of Oblivion said, shaking his head. “Give me ten people, no, ten bodies of peak-level martial artists… and I’ll present you ten blood jiangshi, each as strong as a transcendence-level martial artist.”

“The Cult also possesses ways to create blood jiangshi. I know because I’ve seen them before. However… The methods are too cruel, making them forbidden by the rules of the Cult. Doing such things will only scar my reputation within the Cult…”

Joo Moon-baek was honestly feeling reluctant. Even the Cult of the Heavenly Demon felt that the creation of blood jiangshi was not acceptable and he was unwilling to harm his reputation. 

Hwan Dok smiled sympathetically, his eyes seeming like he wanted to entice his potential customer. “I also wish you never have to use them, but we’re talking about it just in case things go in an unfavorable direction.”

“Just in case…”

“You never know what might happen.”

Transcendence-level. Ten blood jiangshi each as strong as a Demonic King should come in handy sometime. Hmm. 

The more Joo Moon-baek thought about it, the more Hwan Dok’s words were like sweet poison. He knew that this could be a horrible idea, but he couldn’t help but reach out. 

“You can just get rid of them after everything is over. Fabricating events as though they never happened. I believe you have the ability to make that happen, Vice Leader.”

Joo Moon-baek was thinking about it again, and the Demonic Emperor of Oblivion didn’t intend to rush him. 

After much thought, Joo Moon-baek said, “I’ll think about it.”

At that, Hwan Dok turned around with a nod. “You’re free to take your time. It’s just a deal, after all. I’ll leave this blood jiangshi here, so feel free to take a look at it.”

As he left Joo Moon-baek’s room, he coincidentally met the eyes of Shadow, who had been standing to the side.

At that moment, all Shadow saw was a stream of bright light. 

It was only for a short moment, one that Joo Moon-baek didn’t seem to catch, but Hwan Dok’s eyes flashed with red light. This light soaked into the eyes of Shadow and soon disappeared.

After finishing what he wanted to do, Hwan Dok left with a smile on his face. He already knew what was going to happen. 

It’s over. 

The Vice Leader is as much a worried man as he is a greedy one. Which makes him the easiest type to predict. 

Ten days later, the ‘Demonic Emperor of Oblivion’ received something that was sent by Joo Moon-baek, just as he had expected. 

“A gift from the Vice Leader?”

Opening the ‘gift’, he saw the body of one of the Soul Splitting Reapers, a peak-level demonic practitioner. 

Hwan Dok smirked. 

I knew it.

.

Schssst—!

An arrow flew past Woon-seong’s head. At the same time, three more arrows flew towards his waist and shoulders. 

He casually ducked his head. 

Ding—! The arrow aimed for his shoulders, it hit the poulders and bounced off. 

At the same time, he moved his legs and twisted his lower back and the arrow aimed at his waist missed him by the width of a piece of paper. 

As time had passed, Woon-seong was able to skillfully avoid the arrows flying at him from the First Gate. 

Ting—!

Woon-seong must have deliberately touched some of the wires installed as arrows once more flew towards him. There were fifteen more than before now, so he would become a hedgehog if he did not avoid them. 

These arrows rapidly smashed into him. 

Shh. 

The ‘Woon-seong’ that seemed to have been hit vanished as the real Woon-seong appeared about five paces away. The arrows that would have hit him crashed into the wall on the other side. 

That concluded the training for the First Gate. 

As the lights turned on, Woon-seong took a deep breath in. 

“Phew.”

It’s been a month since I met the Demonic Teacher. Neither side was able to tip the balance and we are simply making small moves in the dark. There have been no major clashes. 

What the hell is Joo Moon-baek thinking?

Woon-seong shook his head as he exited the First Gate and walked ahead. Even then, he was still pondering the current situation. 

Did he really obtain the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, the very symbol of the legitimacy of the Heavenly Demon?

Woon-seong huffed out a breath. 

They say you should always prepare for the worst case scenario, but this is sounding like the worst of the worst…

Woon-seong remembered the message that the Senior Strategist had conveyed to him a few days ago. 

The information that I’m getting through Sang Gwan-chuk is somewhat odd. If Joo Moon-baek’s so active about trying to become the leader, we must assume that he obtained something that proves his legitimacy. Whether it’s the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon, or something else… 

Besides, if Sang Gwan-chuk’s theory is correct, it’s a huge problem.

If my opponent is trying to prove his legitimacy with something, I also need to show my own legitimacy by presenting the Divine Shaped Flame!

Woon-seong sighed. Presenting the Divine Shaped Flame would be a step forward, but all it could do was prevent either side from gaining the advantage. 

Still… In the end, if I want to prepare myself for the future scenarios, my only option at this point is to bring in the Divine Shaped Flame. 

The steps of the young man continued past the Second Gate. Unlike the First and the Third, the Second gateway was used for training the senses in the maze. Now that Chun Hwi had been poisoned, Woon-seong was unable to train there alone. 

Thus, Woon-seong headed straight for the Third Gate, the Polymorphic Combat Illusion. 

Whoo—!

As Woon-seong stepped inside, the illusion was triggered. Reading into his mind and Chun Hwi’s memories, enemies were created and the landscape changed dramatically. 

Suddenly, Woon-seong was standing amongst a field of grass as an elderly man stood in front of him, brandishing a sword. 

The plum blossom pattern embroidered on the man’s sleeve caught Woon-seong’s attention. 

The ‘Plum Blossom Sword Saint’.

This was a man that Woon-seong remembered vividly!

You filthy hypocrite! 

In response to the young man’s wrath, the White Night Spear shown with dazzling light.