Chapter 271: Before Riding the Storm (3)
I had always been curious.
Why did the Martial Talent Shop want money, treasures, and elixirs?
And where did the items and money I sent to the Martial Talent Shop actually go?
“Gwan Seo-ye.”
“Yes.”
“Where did these items come from?”
“They are the grace the Heavenly Lord has bestowed upon us.”
Grace. Just as the Martial Talent Shop took from me without explanation, these items would appear here without explanation. To them, it could only appear as divine grace.
“You may find it hard to believe. But these aren’t things we brought here. They are truly grace.”
“I believe you.”
“You believe right away. Thank you.”
“Of course. You should be thankful.”
Though it wasn’t really something to be thankful for. After all, I had paid money to buy talents from the Martial Talent Shop. I just hadn’t expected that money to flow here.
Suddenly, I recalled what the immortal emperor of Great Ming I’d met beneath the sea had told me.
—What matters is that you have a mission to revive Great Ming.
That statement had been utterly, word for word accurate. When I used the Martial Talent Shop to grow stronger, the system was designed so that it would inherently aid the Demonic Cult. It could truly be called a mission.
“But why does there seem to be so little money?”
Setting that aside, something else was bothering me. I’d paid enormous sums of money for all those talents, yet the treasury was nearly empty.
“Maintaining spies throughout the entire Central Plains is quite expensive.”
“…I see.”
So I’d been the financial lifeline of the Demonic Cult’s spies.
“But you told me there were other factions within the Demonic Cult that had different orientations.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then those other factions don’t receive this grace?”
“Correct. But they have their own sources of legitimacy.”
Fair enough. Receiving the Heavenly Demon’s grace was itself a form of legitimate succession. The other factions must have their own unique sources of legitimacy—otherwise, the internal conflicts wouldn’t make sense.
“Such as?”
“The current Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, excluding the minor branches, is broadly divided into three factions. We continue to use the name Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. There is one that uses the name Bright Cult, and another called the Blood Cult.”
“I see.”
“Our faction’s legitimacy is the Heavenly Lord’s grace itself—a direct response to the oracle.”
Gwan Seo-ye spoke proudly, puffing out her chest. The situation was somewhat absurd. I’d only purchased talents to grow stronger, yet to them, that was divine grace.
“And the Bright Cult?”
“As you may know, before the Empire, there was a nation called Great Ming. They have made the revival of Great Ming—the nation itself—their primary objective. They’re less a religious movement and more a political force.”
“Is this faction different?”
“Just because Great Ming is gone doesn’t mean the Heavenly Lord has vanished. We don’t aim to overthrow the Empire. Our goal is simply to spread the Heavenly Lord’s benevolence as widely as possible, even to the common people.”
“Then why would they interfere with the orthodox sects?”
“Because the orthodox sects, which currently hold dominance, reject the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. We can’t simply stand idle.”
Interesting. The factions were subtly different. I thought I understood why they’d split. Based on my guess, Zhu Mun-hwan’s Heavenly King Sect had been part of the Bright Cult faction.
Now it was time to ask about the most ominous-sounding name.
“The Blood Cult?”
“We officially do not recognize them as part of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. They’re considered heretics. The Bright Cult is the same—they acknowledge us but refuse to recognize the Blood Cult.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Their goal is nothing less than conquering the Central Plains martial world. They seek to use the Heavenly Lord’s power purely as a weapon.”
So they were the most violent faction. Did that mean the ones who killed me had been from the Blood Cult? I couldn’t jump to conclusions, but the likelihood seemed high.
“That’s why the Blood Cult is usually the one causing trouble in the Central Plains. I digress—let me return to the matter of legitimacy.”
“Go on.”
“The Bright Cult possesses the imperial seal that symbolizes Great Ming. Within that seal is martial arts that only the imperial family can learn.”
That must have been the Heavenly King Sect. Their Heavenly King Divine Art had been the martial art of Great Ming’s imperial family.
Gwan Seo-ye paused briefly to catch her breath, then continued.
“The Blood Cult are thieves.”
“Thieves?”
“That’s precisely why we don’t recognize their legitimacy. They stole the martial arts of the Great Ming imperial family, then altered and twisted them to suit their own purposes.”
“Ah.”
It was something that happened frequently in the Central Plains martial world. While no one dared modify the arts of the Nine Great Sects, those from mid-tier sects often learned their techniques and modified them without authorization before leaving their sects.
“So they have no legitimacy.”
“Correct. But they’re the largest faction. That’s why the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult is so often called the Demonic Cult—their activities have had the greatest impact.”
“Complicated.”
One Demonic Cult, yet three sub-cults. I could deal with the Bright Cult, but the Blood Cult was clearly hostile. Dealing with the Imperial Palace and the Martial Alliance was already overwhelming, and now I had to contend with the Blood Cult too.
It was something I’d have to handle eventually, but I had no intention of immediately obliterating the Blood Cult as well. That would mean opening three fronts. With my forces already stretched thin, spreading the battle lines wide was something only a fool would do.
“The reason I bring this up is—when we recently declared the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s resurgence…”
“Right.”
“The Blood Cult will likely exploit that.”
“How?”
“The Blood Cult ultimately wants to unite the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Bright Cult. They would want the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to be lumped together and attacked by the entire Central Plains at once. Which is, in fact, what’s currently happening.”
“So their logic is: if we’re going to be rejected by the Central Plains anyway, let’s make it worth our while by doing something truly outrageous?”
“That’s likely it.”
A headache. I hadn’t taken the Demonic Cult’s factional divisions seriously when I first heard about them. If I, who actually possessed the Heavenly Demon’s energy, could be this dismissive, then it was predictable how ordinary commoners—harboring only fear of the Demonic Cult—would perceive them.
“Then I suppose we need to do something about it.”
“I believe so.”
“Before that, I have a small favor to ask. It’s a bit difficult.”
“Anything, anytime. It is our duty to serve the Heavenly Lord.”
Gwan Seo-ye answered as if it were an honor.
“Can you use your intelligence network to find one person for me?”
“Who would that be?”
“A man named Mun-won. He’s the son of the Heavenly King Sect Leader.”
“The Heavenly King Sect? Wasn’t that destroyed over ten years ago?”
They truly had no contact whatsoever. Fair enough—political forces might desire religious alliances, but religious forces had no interest in entangling with political ones. If a religious force desired political power, it was a corrupted faith.
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Is he still alive?”
“I don’t know. That’s why the favor is difficult.”
“Understood. I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thank you.”
Gwan Seo-ye turned and looked at the Left and Right Attendants.
“You heard his request, didn’t you?”
“We heard.”
“Please take care of it.”
The Left and Right Attendants bowed deeply to me and vanished without a trace. They’d left immediately to carry out my request. Having such blindly obedient subordinates was certainly convenient.
“What about you—what’s your position here? Those two seem pretty high-ranking too.”
“I’m the acting High Priest. My father was the High Priest, but he’s currently unwell. Directly below the High Priest are the Left and Right Attendants.”
“A headache. I don’t need to memorize all this, do I?”
“Why would a god need to know human rules?”
Gwan Seo-ye lowered her eyes slightly. A strange sense of alienness washed over me. I still wasn’t accustomed to seeing Gwan Seo-ye this submissive and deferential in my presence.
“While I’m at it, one more thing.”
“Yes.”
“That formation you activated earlier—what was it?”
“Ah. It’s a formation that amplifies demonic qi. Our faction has the most developed formation knowledge among the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s branches.”
As I’d suspected—the formation amplified demonic qi. In that moment, a thought pierced my mind like a needle.
Of course. The orthodox sects must have used something similar. A formation that suddenly boosted one’s practical internal energy and physical power. If I asked Gwan Seo-ye, I might find an answer.
“Could it be…”
I told Gwan Seo-ye about the strange occurrences in the Central Plains recently—how many people had appeared with an imbalance between their techniques and internal energy, and how even established masters had recently grown dramatically stronger.
“We could create something like that.”
Gwan Seo-ye said it casually. My eyes lit up.
“Really?”
“Yes. For example, if we created a formation that adjusted the flow of physical time, one could reach enlightenment faster than others. Time would slow, but the mind would still move at the same speed.”
“Is that possible?”
“Formations are fundamentally a secret art that shakes the very foundations of heaven and earth. It’s difficult, but not impossible.”
“Do you personally have expertise in formations?”
“To some extent.”
I knew what Gwan Seo-ye’s “to some extent” meant. When ordinary people said “to some extent,” it usually translated to an intermediate or lower-intermediate level of proficiency. But Gwan Seo-ye only used that phrase when she was at the very top.
It wasn’t mere modesty. In fact, Gwan Seo-ye had a habit of claiming confidence only when her proficiency was medium or medium-high. I’d once asked her why she acted like a contrarian about it. She said that when her proficiency was low, speaking confidently pushed her to work harder to raise it; when it was high, downplaying it meant she didn’t reveal her full hand to others.
“Then could I perhaps learn about that formation?”
“Formation study is difficult to impart in a short time. But I’ll do my best.”
Gwan Seo-ye bowed her head. Normally, when requesting to learn something in a short time, I would be the one bowing—but here was the teacher bowing instead.
Gwan Seo-ye had always been a bold, impressive Company Lord in front of me. She rarely bowed to anyone. That was precisely why seeing her in this posture felt so awkward and uncomfortable.
“Gwan Seo-ye.”
“Yes.”
I spoke somewhat on impulse.
“You used to speak casually to me when we first met.”
“…Ah, yes. I was too brazen to recognize you at the time.”
Gwan Seo-ye’s face flushed red. That wasn’t what I’d been going for, but she seemed deeply remorseful about it.
“If that was uncomfortable for you, I apologize once more.”
Gwan Seo-ye pressed one hand to her chest and bowed at the waist. It was the exact opposite of the response I’d wanted.
“That’s not it. I was more comfortable when we spoke casually. As you know, I’m not the Heavenly Demon—I just happened to receive the Heavenly Demon’s energy.”
“If you’ve received the Heavenly Lord’s energy, you are no different from a messenger sent directly by the Heavenly Lord. How could I possibly speak to you casually?”
“Even if I ordered you to speak casually?”
“That is the one thing I would implore you to take back.”
I let out a bitter smile. Even if I forced the issue and ordered us back to a casual relationship, it would never feel the way it once had.
I believed I had never made the wrong choice. That was true before my regression, and even more so after.
But this was the one thing I couldn’t help losing. The relationship I had treasured most in my past life—it simply didn’t exist in this one.
It wasn’t Gwan Seo-ye’s fault, nor was it mine.
I spoke with a shrug.
“Fine. Forget it.”
“Thank you.”
Gwan Seo-ye smiled. That smile was the same as it had always been, and it stung ever so slightly.
In return, I had gained new people. A Master, Senior Brothers, younger siblings who believed in and followed me, a deputy foreman.
For their sake, I could no longer dwell on a past I could never reach.
“Just teach me the formation.”
“Yes.”
In a place no one knew about.
In a place no one would ever acknowledge.
It was the moment I bid farewell to my past.