Chapter 1 – Murim: The Demonic Cult’s Way Union
When was it?
Was it a memory from the distant past, in 21st-century South Korea?
Or was it a memory from the time when I was training, spitting blood between life and death?
Anyway, it had been a long time since I had lightly fallen asleep.
“...Divine Emperor. Have you awakened?”
“Have we arrived?”
The dream receded at the sound of her delicate voice, prostrated outside the palanquin without a sound, and the slowly swaying Divine Chariot came into view.
-Kugugugu...
Outside the slightly turned carriage, massive mountain ranges rolled past, and when I widened my senses to scan the surroundings, I felt the demonic energy of numerous devotees prostrating towards the Divine Chariot that I was riding.
“I am still not comfortable with all this.”
“Stop with the stiff tone. If you want to make people follow you, you should try to break them with intellect, not force. Where did the Gwi Hyun-sa who used to test that go?”
At my words, the shadow beyond the door flinched, and I could feel it trembling as if trying to suppress the eccentric nature it had.
“Eunnsssss... eurrkkkkk...”
“Until when, you ask? Until the body turns to dust and the soul becomes powder.”
Rejecting the envoy I sent for her, and even when I directly went myself, declaring that she wouldn’t remove the screen in the middle of the room unless I persuaded her, I—the greatest genius in the history of the Demonic Cult.
Gwi Hyun-sa.
In the end, she became my follower after half a day of questioning and the conditions I set forth for her.
I still haven’t forgotten her boastful words from behind the screen that day.
A dark history should always be brought up after every cooldown to double the fun.
I quietly chuckled and stood up from my seat.
“No matter how much of a fool the previous Cult Leader was to start this war, the public opinion within the Cult has already become quite heated after a year of stalemate in the situation. Even if I declare to stop the war now, do you think the followers will listen to me?”
Moreover, due to the scheming of the Justice Faction, which already manipulated the previous Cult Leader, countless followers lost their lives in vain.
Even though I currently had complete control over the Cult, if I were to make a truce with the Justice Faction in this situation, it was highly likely that internal strife would arise within the Cult.
“But...”
“The decision has already been made, and anyway, it can’t be undone now.”
In my previous life, if I were an ordinary person who knew nothing about fighting, I would have screamed at the decision I made now.
How could I, who was always so close yet so far from the concept of war, ever attempt to commit such atrocious acts that humans were capable of?
However, at the edge of purgatory, where even time has stopped for me, I inherited the vision of the Twelve Divine Demons.
After enduring countless bloody battles and conspiracies over the past ten years, I finally became the Lord of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and could firmly declare my decision.
“If you do not fight, you will only be robbed.”
No matter how much humanity builds structures taller than mountains.
No matter how much they develop technologies to communicate with the world with just a flick of a finger.
The greed inherent beneath the thin mask of civilization would eventually drive humans into the deeds of beasts.
-Kugoong!
“We have arrived.”
Gradually, the Divine Chariot I was riding came to a complete halt, and at my gesture, the doors that were tightly closed by telekinesis opened all at once.
“Watch. Just as I promised you, see how the Justice Faction bastards who trampled on you and your family crumble now.”
Without looking back at Gwi Hyun-sa, who was staring at me, I slowly moved forward, focusing only on what lay ahead.
There were three doors open in front of me.
Heaven, Land, and Human.
Passing through the doors symbolizing the three fundamental elements that make up the world, I stepped outside the Divine Chariot. The colossal Great Heaven, which was almost like a moving palace, was surrounded by prostrating disciples, and in the distance, the bastards of the Justice Faction formed a frontline around Mount Kunlun, swarming like ants.
“Now, let’s have some fun.”
Like a predator before a flock of sheep, my lips twisted unknowingly at the hypocritical aura filling the mountain beyond the frontline.
Since they started this war, there was no need for me to hold back either.
After the civil war with the corrupt Cult Leader’s family, my masters and the True Demonic Qi of the Twelve Divine Demons, who had been writhing in frustration to fight, were crying out in agony.
Was there any need to refuse the fight?
The corrupt former Cult Leader who defied the law of the strong, forcibly occupied the position of Cult Leader, which should be passed on to the next strong person in every generation, and tried to turn it into a hereditary system to rule for eternity.
He manipulated the Justice Faction members through backdoor deals to instigate the final showdown, aiming to eliminate the hostile forces against him and turn the unfavorable opinions within the Cult in his favor. This was the frontline of the Great War between the justice and the demonic forces.
-Whoooong!
“Ughhh!”
“....”
The dazzling strike was certainly magnificent and overwhelming, but to me, it felt utterly hollow.
Without exerting much effort, it was something I could block with just one outstretched finger.
“Five Demons Union.”
-Tuk!
My extended forefinger collided with the huge, radiant golden god in midair.
-Pasasak!
“What?!”
Yes, this is what they call the true essence of the righteous path.
With just a small gesture of my finger, the golden god’s palm lost its light, revealing the ugly true face of Shaolin’s living Buddha, nothing more than a flashy, shallow shell.
This was the true face of Shaolin, the leader of the Justice Faction.
“Wh-what kind of sorcery is this?!”
“Hey, Gwi Hyun-sa. I’m sorry, but you have to endure my grumbling, too.”
“...As the Emperor wishes.”
The finger that crushed the golden palm pointed directly at the ugly, sobbing monk of Shaolin.
It was aimed right at the middle of the filthily attached “dots” on his forehead.
“This is the final teaching for Shaolin from the monk of the Podalap Palace.”
Four Demon Finger Snapping Arts, Fourth Stroke.
“Four Demon Finger.”
There was no grand power or mighty energy wave like Shaolin’s Finger Snapping Arts.
A strange monk from the Podalap Palace who pursued only the essence without unnecessary formalities.
The arts he invented were so quiet and simple.
-Whoong.
Did a gentle breeze pass by?
It was so quiet that one might think so.
The monk’s head didn’t explode, nor did another “dot” appear on his forehead.
There was no such dramatic effect.
Just.
-Shwack!
A corpse, its breath cut off, twitched in the air for a moment.
Unable to stand properly before me, the corpse fell helplessly like a leaf, staining the long stairs of the place with blood as it rolled to the ground where it was born.
-Thud!
After rolling down 108 steep steps, the fallen monk of Shaolin was no longer recognizable.
What remained was merely a filthy lump of flesh and blood.
“Not just anyone, but you dared to insult my master’s martial arts as mere sorcery. I can’t let you live after hearing you say that.”
“...”
A step too late, the remnants of the now Four Great Warriors of the Justice Faction stood frozen in disbelief at the unbelievable scene.
The devotees of the Demonic Path silently revered my power, which had turned the living Buddha of Shaolin and the nemesis of the Demonic Cult into a mere lump of flesh with just one move.
“Here, take this.”
Let’s have some fun.
Suppressing the emptiness that filled my heart with determination, I kicked off the ground without looking back.
The 13th martial conquest of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
It was the moment when the living god of the Demonic Cult declared a true holy war.