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Chapter 1: The Demon Who Walked Into Heaven
The skies above the Central Plains dimmed unnaturally. It wasn't the threat of rain, nor the brewing of war—it was something older, deeper. A silence from the heavens themselves.
In the heart of the Thousand-Year Demonic Clan, the grand hall of black jade pulsed with ominous energy. Candles burned blue. The air trembled. Disciples and masters alike knelt in reverence before a lone figure seated atop a lotus-shaped throne, exuding pressure too vast for mortal qi to contain.
He was known as Ryu Yeon-Hwa—the 9th Heavenly Demon, the 35th Sect Leader, and the man who redefined what it meant to be a god among demons.
But today, he would forsake this world.
"The void calls," Yeon-Hwa spoke, voice deep as the abyss and smooth as flowing silk. "This mortal cage has reached its limit."
All knelt silently, except one.
A young man stepped forward, face sharp with determination, eyes cold with inherited madness. His name was Seong Jin-Ryul, the leader of the clan's strongest martial division, wielder of the Black Scorching Spear, and Yeon-Hwa's first true successor by both blood and blade.
"Master," Jin-Ryul whispered, falling to one knee. "What will become of us without your will?"
Yeon-Hwa rose from his throne. His every step seemed to ripple through space. As he approached, a glowing seal of crimson script appeared above Jin-Ryul's head—the Mark of Succession.
"You shall become the 10th Heavenly Demon, the bearer of my will, and the 36th Sect Leader," Yeon-Hwa declared. "There have been thirty-five before you, but only nine have earned the title of 'Heavenly Demon.' You will be the tenth… because you are the only one I trust to hold the knife to my legacy when it rots."
The hall shook.
Lightning arced across the ceiling as a Gate of Transcendence tore open in the sky above, framed by spiraling divine fire and streaks of void silk. The heavens themselves made way.
"Your ascension…" Jin-Ryul muttered. "You've truly surpassed the limit of mortal cultivation?"
"I have uncovered a Sutra not born of this world," Yeon-Hwa said. "It thrives on harmony between domination and devotion. No mortal could ever conceive it. And so, I go—to find the plane worthy of its bloom."
He extended a hand—gently, almost lovingly—and pressed it to his disciple's chest.
"Do not try to follow me. What lies beyond is not a path—it is a severance."
And with that, Ryu Yeon-Hwa turned, his robe fluttering like silk woven from night.
His body rose, wrapped in demonic lotus qi, shedding mortal impurities as it climbed through the tear in the sky. A final shockwave of crimson light swept through the continent, sending tremors even to the gates of the righteous sects.
Then he was gone.
And the world was left with a new Heavenly Demon…
…while the old one rose toward a realm that had never known fear like his.
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