Chapter 12. I Wish to Become the Sky.

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God showed no reaction to Jin Yeong-in’s gaze.

She was merely exercising her patience, quietly watching the high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

‘Am I wrong?’

Wondering if I had heard an auditory hallucination, I cleaned out my ears, but it was by no means just a feeling.

The conversation between the high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance was being heard in its entirety.

And it wasn’t just Jin Yeong-in.

“Mph! Mmph mph!”

“Mmmph!”

The warriors of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, especially the members of the Demon Extermination Squad, were struggling as if trying to shout something.

But they did not even have the right to open their mouths.

The power of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, that mighty authority that overwhelmed the world, was pressing down on them, rendering them immobile.

‘Ah!’

Only then did Jin Yeong-in realize that the cause of this unbelievable strange affair was the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

It was truly an absurd ability.

To think it was possible to capture the telepathic whispers exchanged by the high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance and transmit them as a ‘heart-voice’.

And on top of that, to transmit it to everyone present here?

It was to the point where I wondered if this was what was meant by a ‘Heaven beyond the Heavens’.

Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, unaware that their conversation was being transmitted in its entirety, continued to exchange telepathic messages.

***

– Elder Yi! I will not forget your sacrifice!

– Please, would it not be possible for you, Elder Yi, to step forward?

– Please make a decision, Elder. If you would just step forward, it is an opportunity to have your name forever remembered in the history of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance.

As dozens of telepathic messages flew in from all directions, Yi Yung’s already old face aged drastically in an instant.

It wasn’t just one or two; with many urging him towards death, how could his desolate heart be described?

– How can you all do this to this old man? It has been almost fifty years since this old man began teaching the juniors at the Heavenly Martial Academy! Are you doing this to an old man who has devoted his entire life to nurturing the next generation?

At Yi Yung’s protest, the high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance hesitated for a moment, but it was nothing more than a fleeting instant.

– Have you not lived long enough, Elder?

– Do you think we want to do this? Will that demon not retreat only if someone steps forward?

– It is something someone must step forward for. You are long past the day you should have washed your hands of worldly affairs, so why are you so attached to your life?

The high-ranking officials of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance desperately tried to persuade Yi Yung.

– Y-you ungrateful wretches! There must be some among you who have received my teachings! How can you do this to me!

Yi Yung trembled with a sense of betrayal, revealing his anger.

– Do you think I am doing this because I am attached to this pathetic life! Is pushing a powerless old man to his death something that so-called righteous sect bastards should do! Even if it means we all die together, I will not offer up my life for the likes of you…….

Just then.

– Elder, face reality.

Ho Jong-ak spoke to Yi Yung in a voice as cold as frost.

– You have no choice, Elder. We are giving you the opportunity to set an example as a senior, as a teacher. Please, make your decision quickly.

– Ho Jong-ak, you bastard! Are you threatening this old man now!

– Must you not think of your family?

– Wh-what did you say?

– You would not wish for the family you have built over your entire life to suffer the tragedy of annihilation.

– ……!

– If you make your decision, your family will be recognized as a prestigious family, as descendants of a great hero.

Although Yi Yung was not from one of the Nine Sects One Gang or the Five Great Clans, he was a figure who had amassed great wealth and honor in recognition of his long service teaching the next generation at the Heavenly Martial Academy.

Thanks to this, Yi Yung’s family was able to establish itself as a martial arts family called the Yichang Yi Family, setting up its base in Yichang, Hubei Province, and establishing the Yi Family Martial Academy to train promising young talents who wished to enter the Heavenly Martial Academy.

However, the Demon Extermination Squad Leader, Ho Jong-ak, was the closest aide to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s Leader and the figure closest to power.

There was no one who did not know that the ‘Heaven’ in his alias, Heavenly Sword, was the Alliance Leader himself.

With a single word from Ho Jong-ak, it would not even take a few days for the Yichang Yi Family, which Yi Yung had devoted his entire life to building, to fall.

– Are you doing this because my background is not prominent?

– Are we not in the same boat, you and I, Elder? You know it well. That if you are not from the Nine Sects One Gang or the Five Great Clans, you will eventually be abandoned.

– …….

Yi Yung trembled, seemingly at a loss for words at Ho Jong-ak’s statement.

‘I have lived my entire life as a member of the righteous martial world! In the end, it was all a waste of time!’

Yi Yung could not even let out a sigh.

– Ho Jong-ak, you bastard. You too will eventually end up in the same boat as this old man. You will be abandoned, I say.

– Even if that happens, who is there to blame? It is the fault of the hunting dog that failed to prove its usefulness, not the master’s fault.

Yi Yung let out a hollow laugh at Ho Jong-ak’s reply and then, as if having made up his mind, stepped forward.

“This old man will pay that blood price. If this old man’s life is acceptable, please take it and calm your anger.”

Yi Yung made a clasped hands greeting towards the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

– You have thought well, Elder. Do not worry about what comes after. The Righteous Heavenly Alliance will hold a grand funeral for you, and I will guarantee the safety of your descendants…… Hmm?

Ho Jong-ak frowned at the sudden sense of unease that washed over him.

The atmosphere was strange.

Looking around, the warriors belonging to the Righteous Heavenly Alliance were all glaring with eyes full of contempt.

‘Don’t tell me.’

He prayed that this ominous feeling was not true, but that was merely Ho Jong-ak’s wishful thinking.

“As expected, you do not disappoint.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God opened her mouth, her voice dry and devoid of any emotion.

“I have seen well. Nothing has changed from the past to the present. You bastards are still nothing more than nauseating hypocrites.”

At the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s words, the faces of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance’s high-ranking officials turned beet red.

“How could you do that to Elder Yi!”

“Kyahk, ptui!”

As if the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s pressure had been released, the warriors of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance began to denounce their vile deeds one after another.

“Ah……”

Ho Jong-ak realized he had been played by the Iron-Blooded Demonic God and regretted it bitterly, but the water was already spilt.

This was worse than everyone dying together.

From the very beginning, everyone should have resolved to fight to the death with one heart and one mind.

If not that, then as a second-best option, someone should have stepped forward voluntarily.

In a situation where they should have been showing their spirit, they were caught engaging in machinations behind the scenes…….

“There is no need to receive the blood price. The blood of rotten ghouls cannot be offered to the memorial tablets of warriors.”

At the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s words, the warriors of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance could not hide their sense of humiliation.

Not only did their faces contort as if they had bitten into shit, but many also hung their heads low in shame and clamped their mouths shut.

“You bastards are just trash not even worth dirtying my hands with, so I shall be on my way. So, prolong those pathetic lives of yours with all your might.”

Leaving those words behind, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God once again opened the gate of blackness and disappeared, taking Jin Yeong-in and the Demonic Cult members with her.

“……”

“……”

“……”

The remaining warriors of the Righteous Heavenly Alliance stood dumbfounded, their mouths clamped shut as if by a silent agreement.

The heavy silence continued for a long time after, and only the intermittent sound of the Yangtze River’s currents could be heard at the scene.

***

Flash!

A black flash flickered, and the scenery before my eyes changed.

“This place is……?”

Jin Yeong-in looked around and was startled.

Just a moment ago, I was in the middle of the Yangtze River, but when I looked again, it was a desolate desert.

I couldn’t even begin to guess how far we had traveled.

I had heard that in the arts of sorcery, there was a technique called ‘Shrinking the Earth’ that allowed one to travel long distances in an instant.

But it wasn’t to this extent.

A sorcery that could travel thousands, even tens of thousands of li in a single moment?

It seemed that the capabilities of the current Heavenly Demon, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, went beyond mere martial arts and had reached a divine level in sorcery as well.

Danmok Cheong and the other warriors of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult were collapsed as if they had all fainted, and around them, the bodies of the fallen warriors were laid out neatly.

And…….

“I greet the Supreme One of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

Jin Yeong-in spotted the Iron-Blooded Demonic God and hastily paid his respects.

“Thank you for the grace of saving my life.”

“Pay it no mind. As one who also belongs to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I have merely granted the wish of the Black Dragon Plaque’s owner.”

The Heavenly Demon was the sky of the demonic path and the master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

It was a self-evident fact that his word was law, a heavenly mandate.

And yet, he humbled himself, saying that he, as a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, followed the cult’s orders.

This was despite the fact that the Iron-Blooded Demonic God himself was the one who had given Jin Yeong-in the Black Dragon Plaque.

“You requested to join the cult, I hear. What is the reason. Is it for revenge.”

The Iron-Blooded Demonic God asked Jin Yeong-in.

“Yes, I wish to take revenge on them.”

“Are you not ashamed before your master.”

Jin Yeong-in did not miss the fleeting look of disappointment that crossed the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s face.

‘Ah.’

Jin Yeong-in thought he understood why the Iron-Blooded Demonic God showed a disappointed expression.

His master, a chivalrous hero among heroes, was never one to dwell on revenge.

Perhaps the Iron-Blooded Demonic God knew of his master’s character.

Thus, he must have been disappointed by his disciple Jin Yeong-in’s request to join the cult.

Even so, Jin Yeong-in had not the slightest intention of making up some slick excuse to avoid displeasing the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.

“The desire for revenge I hold…… is by no means small.”

As Jin Yeong-in said that, a chilling ghost-fire seemed to flicker in his eyes.

“To the point of abandoning your master’s teachings.”

“Yes.”

Jin Yeong-in’s answer was unhesitating.

How could he forget the things he had experienced in the Demonic Prison before returning to the past?

The Jin Yeong-in who had resolved to walk the path of a chivalrous hero according to the teachings of his master, the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky, had died a long time ago.

“My master was a great man, and I respect him. But I am not in a position to uphold those teachings.”

“Are you saying you lack the capability.”

“It is simply that our paths are different.”

Jin Yeong-in dared to refute the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s words.

“And…… I am not my master. The path I will walk is not in my master’s footsteps.”

“Once your revenge is achieved, what do you plan to do then. This cult is not a place that accepts vengeful ghosts.”

“Beyond revenge, I wish to become a Heaven beyond the Heavens.”

Through the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, Jin Yeong-in realized what a true Heaven beyond the Heavens was.

His master had said.

If you find yourself in a crisis, entrust your life and death to the heavens.

His master might have simply been speaking of a warrior’s mindset, but Jin Yeong-in did not even like that.

The Jin Yeong-in before returning to the past had lived a life trampled and dragged around by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance, regardless of his own will.

Jin Yeong-in hated that to death.

Life and death depended on the heavens?

If so, he wished to become the sky.

In this life, Jin Yeong-in wanted to decide his own fate, his life and death, solely according to his own will.

To become a being who holds the world beneath his feet, like the Iron-Blooded Demonic God!

As if his sincerity had been conveyed, the look of disappointment that had been on the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s face had vanished without a trace.

“You wish to become the sky, you say. Though you say you will not follow your master’s teachings, your courage and spirit are worthy of that master and that disciple.”

“……”

Jin Yeong-in did not know how to react, so he simply waited for the Iron-Blooded Demonic God to continue speaking.

“Jin Yeong-in, disciple of the Divine Hero of the Azure Sky.”

“Yes.”

“I permit your entry into the cult.”

At the Iron-Blooded Demonic God’s permission, Jin Yeong-in’s eyes welled up with tears.

From a wretched state with nowhere to belong in the vast world, the sanctuary of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had been created, and the sorrows of the past surged up.

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