Chapter 30: Chapter 30
The doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace swung wide open.
The deep blue-green hue vanished entirely. The doors glowed red-hot like molten lava. The heat was so intense that the entrance shimmered, warping the view.
And Baek-ya, the Radiant Left Emissary, responded with reverence.
“I sincerely congratulate you on reaching a new realm.”
The man who had always looked down with that ghostly pale face now bowed his head and performed a fist-and-palm salute for the first time. For a fellow First Grade Ghost to do this was the highest praise imaginable.
“No, Left Emissary, there’s no need to go this far… Hahaha!”
Mao scratched the back of his head, flustered. Then tilted his head.
‘Is it really this big a deal? Jang I-seo dismissed me as an idiot.’
He hadn’t called him an idiot. But there was a significant misunderstanding here.
First, Mao’s More-the-Better Fist was a single ultimate strike that detonated all his internal energy at once. But the Radiant Left Emissary, having no way to know about such an abnormal technique.
‘The Seventh Young Master has reached the supreme realm!’
An understandable misconception. A deeply serious one, but understandable.
‘Another small sun has risen. So this is the power of the Heaven-Yang Body chosen by His Supremacy…! The birth of another man worthy of the Young Cult Leader title is a tremendous blessing for our cult.’
The Radiant Left Emissary’s eyes flew open so wide the whites nearly swallowed the irises entirely.
‘What the hell, terrifying.’
The triumphant Mao recoiled a step. It looked ghastly, but it was actually a reaction that only appeared when he was in an excellent mood.
After a moment, the Radiant Left Emissary’s eyes returned to normal and he asked meaningfully.
“May I ask when exactly you reached this realm?”
“Oh, well… today at Yin-shi? Or was it Chuk-shi?”
Hmm? The Radiant Left Emissary tilted his head. Not a typical answer. But achieving the supreme realm at such a young age was no ordinary feat.
“Today…?”
“Ah, is that wrong? Hold on. This was originally my strength to begin with. So should I say a long time ago? Right. A long time ago. About three or four years?”
“Then you mean to say you’ve been hiding this tremendous power since the age of fifteen?!”
Doubt began to creep into the Emissary’s eyes.
“Heh heh. Tremendous power? Radiant Left Emissary. Did you just say tremendous power? Say it again.”
Mao cupped his ear and leaned in with a lecherous grin. The Emissary masked his displeasure with a forced cough and answered.
“Ahem. Many have opened the doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace before, but none possessed internal energy that didn’t merely overflow but actually boiled. So if that isn’t tremendous power, what is?”
“Heh heh… correct. Tremendous power. This is my More-the-Better Fist. A martial art I created myself.”
Nonsense! Not even the First Young Master Cheon Mu-gi was at that level. The Radiant Left Emissary’s eyes filled with suspicion. Mao countered with an indignant expression.
“Ah, well, I did have some help. But it’s basically the same as doing it myself. Hahaha!”
As expected. Someone had helped. Of course. Impossible alone. Who could it be? There shouldn’t be any master in the cult he didn’t know about. The First Elder? The Emissary’s eyes flashed.
“Who is this person?”
“Heit!”
Heit? Was he a Westerner? As the Emissary peered at him curiously, Mao suddenly twisted his body sideways and slipped through the narrowing gap of the closing doors.
BOOM!
And with a thunderous rumble, the doors of the Heavenly Demon Palace sealed shut once more.
“…”
The Radiant Left Emissary stood alone, eyes wide, rooted to the spot for a long time.
*
BOOM!
Barely making it inside the Heavenly Demon Palace, Mao wiped the cold sweat from his brow as he watched the doors close.
“Phew. Almost screwed up.”
Having used all his internal energy on the More-the-Better Fist, he’d need at least a quarter-shi, fifteen minutes, before any meaningful recovery. If the doors had closed while he was still outside, the breakfast would have been forfeit, and he’d have had to trudge back to the Seventh Small Palace empty-handed.
“Hah, we were just getting to the fun part too.”
Tsk. Regretfully, Mao pounded on the doors and shouted.
“Hey, Radiant Left Emissary! You still there? Let’s continue our chat next time! Tremendous power! We start from there. Got it? Don’t forget! Radiant Left Emissary-!”
He desperately hoped his voice reached him.
But right then.
[What is this commotion?]
Like a bucket of ice water, an even, chilling voice echoed from somewhere. Mao’s face went ghost-white. His entire body trembled.
“H-Heavenly Demon… Father…”
The Heavenly Demon, Jin U-gwang.
That was him. Unmistakably his voice.
[If you’ve come, enter.]
The feeling of receiving a god. Meeting the Heavenly Demon in the Demonic Cult carried precisely that weight. Mao turned slowly from the entrance, face taut with tension.
And finally, the grandeur of the Heavenly Demon Palace filled his vision.
Technically, this was where his adoptive father resided, making it his own family home in a sense. But he’d never actually been inside before.
‘I couldn’t even get in.’
So in his imagination, he’d pictured rivers of blood, bats swarming, corpses piled high. A demon’s lair.
But now that he was here, it was clean and intact. No. Elegant, even.
Being inside a cavern, the overall atmosphere was dim. But the high ceiling was studded with precious night pearls arranged like the Milky Way, casting a soft, ethereal glow. The smoothly finished walls bore magnificent murals.
A red carpet ran down the central path. Ornate decorations lined both sides in rows, forming a corridor.
As beautiful and mesmerizing as a Western Region palace.
This was the legendary Heavenly Demon Palace.
Gulp.
Mao swallowed and took his first step. He’d finally made it here. Now he could face his father with dignity.
Forking paths appeared left and right, but he ignored them. The Heavenly Demon was at the far end, straight ahead. He was certain.
And when he’d walked far enough that the entrance was no longer visible.
“Hah!”
The final destination came into view.
A room lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves. At its center, a long wooden table that could seat a dozen or more.
And at the head of that table, he sat.
Pale, flawless skin. Crimson lips.
Eyes that drew you in deeper the longer you looked, radiating something infernal.
Were it not for the white hair, he could never be mistaken for a man past seventy. A peerless beauty who had reversed the ravages of age.
The undisputed greatest under heaven in this era.
The Heavenly Demon, Jin U-gwang.
His adoptive father sat there.
“Supreme Heavenly Demon! All demons bow! Seventh Young Master Mao greets his father!”
The moment he saw him, Mao dropped into full prostration. His body quivered uncontrollably. He was terrified. Not simply because of the title Heavenly Demon and everything behind it.
From the instant he’d entered this room, his body grew heavy, as if he’d plunged underwater. His lungs felt like half the air had been sucked away.
It wasn’t his mind warning him. It was instinct.
Kneel. Serve.
Or die.
This was the Heavenly Demon’s demonic aura, burrowing into the marrow even when the man sat perfectly still.
Moreover, he was already eating, using his chopsticks, yet not a single sound of chewing reached Mao’s ears. An unnatural stillness unsettling enough to warp the mind.
How could he not tremble?
“You’re late.”
An ambiguous statement. Late for today’s breakfast, or late for a palace he hadn’t entered in two years? Either way, there was only one thing to say.
“F-forgive me! This child is late!”
As Mao buried his head in sincere apology, Jin U-gwang picked up a piece of meat, chewed silently, swallowed, and spoke.
“Sit.”
“Sir? Yes!”
Mao sprang up and took his seat at the opposite end of the long table. He stole sideways glances at Jin U-gwang.
‘He hasn’t changed. Exactly the same as when he appeared at the Ma family estate.’
The Radiant Left Emissary Baek-ya hadn’t aged either, but Jin U-gwang looked as though time had frozen. Young and beautiful.
A resplendent outfit where black and white intertwined in perfect harmony.
Melancholy eyes that watched with seeming indifference.
And an expression that revealed absolutely nothing.
Everything identical to their first meeting.
“Did you come alone?”
“Ah, well… we came together, but…”
“Eat.”
“Sir? Yes…”
Mao moistened his bone-dry mouth and picked up his utensils. Surveying the table, he found an exceedingly ordinary meal. Meat, vegetables, broth. Come to think of it, despite becoming father and son, he knew almost nothing about the Heavenly Demon.
He’d simply thought of him as a sky-like existence. Seeing such a modest meal felt strange.
“What. Does the food not suit you?”
“Ah, no? Not at all. It’s very delicious.”
“You can tell the taste without eating.”
“Ah, that… I’ll eat well!”
As Mao began shoveling food, Jin U-gwang watched him with a faint, genuine smile before returning to his own meal.
Honestly, Mao couldn’t tell whether the food was going to his nose or his mouth. He just ate vigorously to avoid the awkward silence.
About a quarter-shi passed. The Heavenly Demon finished first and set down his utensils. Mao, who’d been sneaking glances, immediately followed suit.
Wiping his mouth with a white cloth, the Heavenly Demon spoke quietly.
“I thought you’d never come in your lifetime. I’m surprised.”
“I apologize… for being late.”
“Enough. If not today, I would have considered our connection severed.”
Meaning that if he hadn’t come today, even the father-son relationship would have ended.
Mao thumped his chest as if suffering indigestion and laughed awkwardly. Jin U-gwang asked.
“You couldn’t have reached the emission realm on your own. Did the Third help you?”
Unlike the Radiant Left Emissary, the Heavenly Demon pierced straight to the truth. This meant he knew Mao’s level intimately.
“No.”
Mao answered honestly.
“Then you met a benefactor.”
A benefactor. Hearing the Heavenly Demon call someone that made him feel inexplicably good. He rubbed his philtrum with his index finger and replied.
“He’s someone I met recently. Nags a lot. But he’s never wrong…”
“Eliminate him.”
“Excuse me?”
Had he misheard? Eliminate? Mao’s eyes shot wide. Jin U-gwang rested his chin on his hand and smiled warmly.
“Benefactors met in times of need never forget what you were. As you grow, they’ll seek ever greater returns. Eliminate them. They’ll cling to your ankles and become a ladder for the assassins who will climb up to reach you.”
“Ah, no… but…”
“No need to do it now. But when the time comes, kill them.”
A chilling statement. At Jin U-gwang’s cruel words, Mao silently corrected every foolish thought he’d had while staring at the side dishes.
There was nothing human about this. This was the Absolute Supremacy, the Heavenly Demon. A being whose very thought process differed fundamentally from his own.
“My child has come, so I must give a gift. Receive it.”
Jin U-gwang, still resting his chin on his hand, made a light gesture toward the empty air.
FWIIIISH!
A sharp sound erupted from somewhere behind. It approached at tremendous speed. Mao sensed danger and leaped to his feet, spinning around.
“Wh-what is that?!”
Out of nowhere, a blade hurtled toward him like a bolt of lightning.
FWIIIISH!
And not just any blade. One he knew intimately.
A famous blade with a soaring dragon engraved on its broad spine.
The divine artifact. The Azure Dragon Blade.
The Azure Dragon Blade, once bestowed upon him and then stripped away, was now flying straight at him with killing intent.
Aimed directly at his heart!