-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Facing the Iron Blood Demon Emperor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clear blue skies and scorching sunlight pouring down.
Hyeok Mulin headed to the Heavenly Martial Hall again today.
The Heavenly Martial Hall was a private training chamber reserved solely for the Cult Leader, strictly off-limits to outsiders. No matter what happened inside, it remained completely hidden from the world beyond.
Somehow, a full month had passed with the same routine, and he spent most of his days here.
"This is the true starting point."
Simply returning to the past didn't mean everything would fall into place.
On the contrary, declaring the divorce had only accelerated the deterioration of his relationship with the Cheon Clan.
He still had no forces loyal to him, and his own martial prowess was far from sufficient.
"In the end, all I can rely on is my own strength."
He couldn't depend solely on the advantage of knowing what the future held.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult operated on the logic of power, so honing his own abilities was the only path to survival.
Clunk.
Hyeok Mulin locked the door and lightly stretched his limbs, moving his body this way and that.
As the Cult Leader's private training chamber, the floor was laid entirely with blue stone, allowing for far more natural movement.
"That should be enough."
With his body sufficiently warmed up, Hyeok Mulin moved to the center of the chamber.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating his qi and regulating his breath.
After repeating the same actions for a full month, Hyeok Mulin finally sensed a change.
The extreme demonic energy he had gathered bit by bit each day was showing signs of breaking through the Laogong acupoints in his palms and the Yongquan acupoints in the soles of his feet.
Sip―
Breathing in deeply, he concentrated all his energy into the Laogong acupoints in his palms.
The meridians leading to them cleared ever so slightly in an instant.
'Don't stop. Straight to the next.'
Leaving only a thread of extreme demonic energy in the meridians to keep the pathways open, he redirected the remaining power to the Yongquan acupoints in his feet.
Soon, those trembling meridians broke through as well.
From the initial piercing of the Baihui acupoint to both hands and feet.
The pentagram meridians throughout his body had fully opened.
And in that moment, extreme demonic energy rippled across his entire body.
It undulated like waves for a brief time before settling into stillness.
Exhale―
Hyeok Mulin slowly opened his eyes.
Having formed the Circulating Heaven Fire Symbol, he looked downward.
'It's done.'
Even after stopping the circulation, he could feel his body naturally resonating with the world, accumulating energy on its own.
From now on, without deliberate cultivation, energy would gather automatically—whether sleeping or eating—constantly building up extreme demonic energy in his lower dantian.
Of course, the amount was minuscule compared to formal cross-legged cultivation, but the fact that it happened effortlessly was a tremendous advantage.
The more the better, especially since internal energy was always in short supply.
"Demonic arts are demonic arts, after all."
Just reaching the first stage of the saint realm made such absurd accumulation possible.
He was already looking forward to what advancements the next stage of the Pure Soul Divine Demonic Art would bring.
'Still not enough.'
No matter how superior the purity of extreme demonic energy compared to ordinary demonic energy, considering what lay ahead, the total quantity was still woefully inadequate.
To stand equally against the Seven Great Demonic Families without the backing of the Cheon Clan, he needed far more power.
"Looks like I need to make some plans."
Things were about to get busy; he couldn't spend all day every day just cultivating.
Increasing his internal energy.
'Among them, the most effective would be... that thing in the elixir repository.'
Risky, but worth attempting now that he had mastered the Pure Soul Divine Demonic Art.
As Hyeok Mulin gripped his chin, pondering the details—
Knock knock―
Jang Wi knocked on the door, snapping him from his thoughts.
"Come in."
Opening the door at Hyeok Mulin's response, Jang Wi bowed his head.
"Cult Leader, the Second Elder has come to see you."
He'd finally arrived.
"Understood. Tell him I'll prepare and head over soon. Wait for me at the Pure Heaven Pavilion."
"As you command."
His patience must have run out after a month.
They were the ones in a hurry, so there was no need to rush.
After sweating from training, he'd bathe first, have a leisurely breakfast, then go.
With a smirk, Hyeok Mulin exited the Heavenly Martial Hall at an unhurried pace.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Seven Great Demonic Families.
The seven prestigious houses that sought teachings from the founding Heavenly Demon and received divine weapons as gifts.
Since the establishment of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they had served as its core strength, firmly holding the central pillar.
Among them, the one seated at the head, wielding immense influence, was the Cheon Clan.
And at that moment, the Cheon Clan Patriarch—Second Elder of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Iron Blood Demon Emperor, Cheon Jungak—sat rigidly in the Pure Heaven Pavilion.
"...."
Cheon Jungak, known for his cold demeanor and ruthless nature toward enemies that shed no blood or tears, turned his head slowly.
He stared blankly at the sunlight streaming through the window.
The angle of the light had shifted considerably since his arrival, yet the Cult Leader had yet to appear.
Clenching his fist at the continued absence of any presence, Cheon Jungak growled in a gruff voice.
"He's late."
After sending a messenger over a month ago with no reply, he'd ordered an investigation out of suspicion.
And then—
—Th... the Cult Leader burned the Patriarch's letter.
Such an absurd report.
"If not for my daughter, I wouldn't have come here myself."
With his child suddenly facing divorce, there was no choice but to meet the son-in-law in person.
Even so.
"To dare make Cheon Jungak wait."
Putting an ignorant whelp on the Cult Leader's throne had led to him stabbing his father-in-law in the back—and now openly keeping him waiting.
Clearly bewitched by power.
Suddenly gaining the heavenly position must have made the world seem like his for the taking.
Thinking of the Cult Leader again ignited his fury, his facial muscles twitching, so he closed his eyes to calm himself and regain composure.
Just then, footsteps approached from outside.
Clunk.
"Kept you waiting."
Hyeok Mulin entered with a light greeting.
"...You seem quite busy."
"That's the nature of the Cult Leader's position. Please understand."
Though Cheon Jungak subtly revealed his displeasure, Hyeok Mulin brushed it off by gesturing to the piled-up documents and naturally took the seat of honor.
Cheon Jungak's pupils trembled slightly, expecting him to sit opposite.
"Care for some tea?"
"No need. We're not in a position for that right now."
"Position for that."
Their gazes met in midair.
Time passed briefly, and Cheon Jungak spoke first.
"I heard from my daughter. You suddenly brought up divorce."
"I judged it the right time for us to part ways."
"After less than half a year of marriage?"
"Yes."
Cheon Jungak furrowed his brow at the response.
In the end, no real reason—just that he'd used the Cheon Clan's prestige to claim the Cult Leader's seat and now wanted to cut ties.
"It's hard to accept. I can't allow my daughter to become the subject of gossip."
Hoo.
He'd thought it was purely about protecting his own power, but apparently not entirely.
'Come to think of it, Cheon Seohee is his only child.'
With just one daughter, it was no surprise he'd poured all his affection into her.
The father's heart, wishing to avoid any stain on her name, was palpable.
'Well, can't be helped.'
This side was doing it to survive too.
He couldn't yield on the divorce no matter what.
"Hard or not, you'll have to accept it. What I said then was not up for discussion—it was a notice."
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Staring daggers at Hyeok Mulin, Cheon Jungak lowered his voice chillingly.
"Then the Cheon Clan can no longer be your ally. Can you bear that?"
Without the Cheon Clan backing, the other families' fierce pressure would come crashing in.
Facing it alone was tantamount to suicide.
Yet Hyeok Mulin smiled faintly.
"Bear it? Interesting choice of words. Since when does a Heavenly Demon look to others' faces?"
"...!"
"Besides, losing me as an ally would deal a blow to the Cheon Clan as well."
No matter how lofty the Cheon Clan's might, they'd allied with the Hyeok Clan to gain what they wanted.
If that alliance broke, they could remain among the top of the Seven Great Demonic Families, but the leading seat would be forfeit.
It was the Hyeok Clan's modest influence—lowly as it was—that had elevated them in one stroke.
"How impudent."
Cheon Jungak sneered, lifting one corner of his mouth.
But their leagues were worlds apart in scale, forces, and authority.
Comparing the Hyeok Clan and Hyeok Mulin to the Cheon Clan made the losses obvious.
The brat had forgotten his place after just three months as Heavenly Demon.
'Time to remind him of his station.'
Once burned, he'd tuck tail and submit.
Drawing intangible demonic energy from his body, Cheon Jungak infused it with his razor-sharp killing intent.
No physical harm.
Instead, a mental shock impossible to overcome in a lifetime.
Emitting murderous demonic energy from all directions, he unleashed it toward Hyeok Mulin.
However.
"...."
No change appeared on Hyeok Mulin's face.
Unaltered by the pressure, he let it flow past indifferently.
A faint crack appeared on the stoic Cheon Jungak's face.
"Anything else to say?"
The implication was clear: a firm dismissal of the guest.
Cheon Jungak rose from his seat.
"...We'll see. Go ahead and have your way."
"Thank you for the optimism. We'll meet again soon at the Elder Council regular meeting."
Thud―
The door closed with a heavy sound.
"...."
Only after Cheon Jungak's presence fully vanished outside did Hyeok Mulin exhale softly in relief.
Whew.
That had been close.
He'd reached his limit too but feigned nonchalance to issue the dismissal and send him away.
A few days ago, he couldn't have withstood the pressure fully.
But reaching the first stage of the Pure Soul Divine Demonic Art today had let him endure—just barely.
Hyeok Mulin carefully calmed the roiling energy within.
"Still, it's different from before."
Precarious, but he'd held.
In his previous life, that killing intent would have frozen him like a mouse before a snake.
At least now, they couldn't crush him with mere presence.
Raising the corner of his mouth in satisfaction, Hyeok Mulin stood and turned his gaze.
"And the documents have piled up even more."
Neglecting the Pure Heaven Pavilion for a month had doubled the stacks, overflowing from the desk to tower on the floor.
They'd been numerous before; a bit more made no difference.
He had no time for that now anyway.
"Hm?"
Then one letter caught Hyeok Mulin's eye.
Lying casually in the center of the desk, it inexplicably drew his gaze.
As if entranced, he picked it up and slowly unfolded it.
The contents were utterly unexpected.
The sender was none other than the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Grand Strategist, Sama Geuk. The core message was simple.
[I hereby tender my resignation from the position of Grand Strategist.][Sama Geuk's Seal]
"...."
Confirming the contents, Hyeok Mulin stared down at the resignation letter.
Whoosh!
Summoning samadhi true fire, he burned it away effortlessly.
"This time, you won't quit so easily."