Chapter 144: Fiery Confrontation

The tension around Iron Steed Prison Cave was on the verge of exploding.

Many predicted a civil war would erupt within the Heavenly Demon Cult.

However, that prediction was proven wrong almost absurdly off, as the heads of the Jin Clan and the Ma Clan reached a mutual agreement.

When both the Jin and Ma Clans simultaneously withdrew their forces, the Pa Clan also retreated to their main house in response to the Jin Clan’s movement.

Yet, there was one clan that alone resisted this outcome.

“This makes no sense! Our main house risked so much by siding with the Ma Clan! Once the sword is drawn, you must see it through to the end!”

It was Hwan Japyeong, an Elder of the Illusion Clan who had led the troops of the Heaven Revering Illusion Clan, now storming into the Ma Clan’s command tent, shouting angrily.

“It was the Clan Head’s order.”

But the Ma Clan’s leadership all uniformly responded with that single line, refusing to engage further.

The Illusion Clan, which had secretly hoped for a clash between the two houses, was left fuming.

Hwan Japyeong persistently tried to persuade the Ma Clan’s leadership.

Naturally, it was to no avail.

Faced with the Ma Clan’s unwavering stance, Hwan Japyeong eventually crossed the line.

“To think the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan would retreat with the Jin Clan right in front of them! Imagine how the rest of the Six Great Demonic Clans will mock you!”

“What did you just say?”

The moment the warriors of the Ma Clan heard those words, they all drew their swords in unison.

“How dare a clan like the Illusion Clan insult our main house?”

“N-No… I didn’t mean—!”

A slip of the tongue, triggered by a surge of anger.

But spilled water could not be gathered again.

“No one from our main house ever asked for your help. You barged into our affairs uninvited and now have the audacity to spout nonsense like that.”

“Get lost. Before we decide to return your head to the Illusion Clan!”

Even if Hwan Japyeong had reached the peak of the Master Level realm, there was no chance against the Ma Clan’s elite gathered around him.

Faced with real intent to draw blood, Hwan Japyeong panicked.

“I-It was a slip of the tongue! I offer my apologies!”

Only after the Illusion Clan retreated did the state of emergency within the Cult come to an end.

Of course, many didn’t believe the situation was truly over.

After all, it had been an unprecedented crisis that even mobilized the Thirty-Four Demon Squads and direct combat forces.

It was naïve to think that a rift among the Six Great Demonic Clans—fostered over a thousand years—could be patched up with a few words.

For now, the typhoon had passed—but a stronger storm was sure to sweep over the Heavenly Demon Cult in the days to come.

***

“…is probably what someone’s thinking right now.”

I muttered as I walked along a garden path somewhere.

‘The Cheon Clan unexpectedly played little part in this incident. Most likely because the Cult Leader intervened from behind the scenes.’

Not only the Cheon Clan, but also the ‘someone’ I was now visiting had been conspicuously silent.

Thanks to the silence from the two most dangerous factions, this unprecedented situation of multiple clans mobilizing their forces fizzled out anticlimactically.

Ma Jinyoon’s death was certainly regrettable… but considering the expected casualties, we’d practically managed a bloodless resolution.

‘Still, he can rest in peace now. The Ma Chulsoo he so desperately wished for has become the Young Cult Leader.’

I arrived at a pavilion located at the end of the path.

“[Mid-level Scribe], Jin Yeomyung, reporting.”

“…Come in.”

A voice, filled with dissatisfaction, called out from inside the pavilion.

I stepped up onto the pavilion where the voice had come from.

Inside, Cheon Jumyeong, Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, was drinking.

‘Wine?’

Judging from the rising aroma, it seemed like quite the fine liquor.

“Sit. Will you have a drink?”

“Gladly!”

I happily plopped myself down across from Cheon Jumyeong and held out an empty cup without hesitation.

“……”

Cheon Jumyeong stared, round-eyed, as if surprised by my response.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a proper drink.”

“The Grand Heir of the Jin Clan hasn’t had a drink?”

“Thousand-Day Pass generally prohibits outside goods.”

As he filled my cup, Cheon Jumyeong let out a dry laugh.

“And you call that an excuse? What a noble saint you’ve become.”

Well, the restriction was more of a convenient excuse.

The real reason was…

“As you know, I’ve been rather busy up until yesterday.”

“……”

The stream of liquor stopped slightly past the brim of the cup.

‘Judging by how he’s dropped even his usual half-hearted politeness, he must be really pissed.’

Which made this all the more satisfying.

Why else did I go through all that hell?

Well, that was that.

I carefully lifted the cup and downed it in one go.

‘Ahh, that’s the stuff!’

The fiery burn down my throat, the refreshing fragrance—unsurprisingly, as the Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, he didn’t drink just anything.

“Seems it suits your taste.”

“At this point, I think even bamboo leaf liquor or cheap baijiu would taste great.”

“Well, since you got everything you wanted, I suppose anything would taste good now.”

There was a clear edge to his words.

I put my cup down and returned that edge right back.

“Did you plan to use the Heaven-Slaying Star to instigate an all-out war among the Six Clans?”

“No need to ask when you already know the answer.”

“Must sting quite a bit.”

“If it weren’t for you.”

Cheon Jumyeong drained the cup I’d poured and continued in a calm tone.

“Combining the strength of the Six Clans to hold the Cheon Clan in check… Even setting aside the foolish dreams of the elders in the Seven Elders Council…”

*Clack!*

“You and the Cult Leader made a huge mistake this time.”

“A mistake, you say?”

He began pouring himself another drink.

“Yes. No matter the justification, a united front among the Six Clans is something that must never happen.”

The liquor in his cup overflowed past the rim.

“……”

I understood what Cheon Jumyeong was trying to say.

“Are you saying that the authority of the next Cult Leader is being undermined by the bloated power structure?”

“You catch on quick.”

Even if we put aside the future for a moment…

Cheon Jumyeong’s words weren’t some baseless prophecy.

After all, even during the previous generation—before the current Cult Leader’s reign—the unchecked dominance of the Six Clans had been quite significant.

As he took a sip from his glass, Cheon Jumyeong said:

“Let’s say you manage to unify the strength of the Six Clans and suppress the Cheon Clan. But once that goal is achieved, do you really think they’ll just dissolve their alliance and go their separate ways?”

“……”

“Heh, of course not. Once gathered, their strength won’t be unraveled until it’s all run its course. Not until your precious Cheon Yura becomes a perfect puppet.”

Pa Yeongyeong, Ma Chulsoo, Jin Yeowoon.

I doubted the people I knew would go so far as to turn Cheon Yura into a puppet.

However, even a Clan Head couldn’t simply turn their back on the benefits of their own house.

“Well, that may very well happen.”

I had considered that possible future myself. After all, the Heavenly Thunder Corps had been created to keep the Six Clans in check in the first place.

“If that does come to pass someday…”

“If it does?”

If that future came to be, there was only one thing I would have to do.

“I will dismantle the Six Great Demonic Clans with my own hands.”

“……”

Cheon Jumyeong’s face briefly twisted into a look of disbelief.

Seeing such a reaction from the Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Corps told me just how absurd what I’d said must have sounded.

But I meant it.

“Whether becoming a puppet of the Six Clans or of the Heavenly Thunder Corps—I want neither of those futures.”

At those words, the hand holding Cheon Jumyeong’s cup halted.

“A puppet of the Heavenly Thunder Corps?”

“Don’t tell me… you don’t want that future either, do you?”

To want that future.

To pursue that future.

He would eventually bring about the downfall of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

I expected him to explode in anger at such a blatant jab, but…

“You’re right…”

Surprisingly, he nodded without resistance.

“It’s only natural for a man to desire power. Especially one whose path to becoming number one has been blocked—that hunger becomes even stronger.”

“Indeed.”

And that’s why Cheon Jumyeong and I could never coexist.

One of us would inevitably have to disappear.

Today was a reaffirmation of that truth.

“Take it.”

Cheon Jumyeong tossed me a name plaque from inside his robe.

“A promise is a promise. Settlements should be handled cleanly.”

The plaque had my name, a title, and a nickname I had never even heard before.

—

Vice Pavillion Master of the Naming Hall, Demonic Heaven Dragon, Jin Yeomyung

—

“This is…”

I blinked at the unexpectedly large compensation.

“You wanted the personnel records, didn’t you? This should be adequate compensation.”

Vice Pavillion Master of the Naming Hall, one of the Seventeen Halls of the Cult.

Of course, the Naming Hall was under direct control of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, so such a position was technically possible. But it was far too high-ranking for a young pup not even yet of age.

But more importantly…

“‘Demonic Heaven Dragon’… What is that supposed to be?”

Even if I came from the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, that kind of flamboyant title was way too much for someone like me, barely out of the postnatal stages.

Seeing my flustered expression, Cheon Jumyeong smirked.

“That’ll be your new nickname going forward.”

“……”

“The twin siblings from the Pa Clan, formerly part of the Six Demonic Dragons, have stepped down due to age.”

So, I’m taking one of those vacant spots?

“With your ability and accomplishments, you’ve more than earned it. Congratulations, the new spearhead of the Six Demonic Dragons—Master Demonic Heaven Dragon.”

Demonic Heaven Dragon, huh…

At the very least, Jin Gun-ak would be pleased.

But that wasn’t the issue troubling me.

“Since you’re now the Vice Pavillion Master of the Naming Hall, be sure to submit that nickname in the official report.”

The Naming Hall was, after all, the institution responsible for approving warriors’ official nicknames.

Which meant…

“…You’re asking me to formally confirm this nickname myself?”

There was nothing more embarrassing than giving yourself your own nickname!

The corner of Cheon Jumyeong’s mouth lifted.

“If you try to submit a different one, I’ll have it rejected. Consider yourself warned.”

“Even if I may have disrupted your plans a little, is this really how petty your revenge needs to be?”

“Hmm? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His expression made it clear—he knew exactly what I was talking about.

I did my best to smooth the scowl off my face.

‘This old man’s eaten more than his fair share of years!’

Is this the level of pettiness from the man hailed as the Cult’s top strategist?

But then came a follow-up that completely cooled my irritation.

“Since you’ll be formally joining the Heavenly Thunder Corps, I’ll file for early graduation from the Thousand-Day Pass. You’ll be given seven days and nights to wrap up your affairs.”

“…!”

Of course, entering the Heavenly Thunder Corps meant leaving the Thousand-Day Pass behind.

But—

For someone of Cheon Jumyeong’s standing to go this far… it wasn’t something he’d normally bother with.

I had a pretty good guess as to why he was doing this.

‘Looks like I’ll be separated from my subordinates for a while.’

I had braced myself for it, but it still stung.

And more than anything else…

‘Lady Baek will be out of my sight… ugh! That’s really unsettling.’

While she was essentially free from assassination threats now, that didn’t mean I could lower my guard.

No one knew when those sharpening their blades in the shadows would strike.

‘At the very least, I need to keep Gu Chil or Myeong-oh around.’

Myeong-oh was busy with training the newly formed Underworld King’s Unit, so Gu Chil would likely have to handle it.

Most of all…

‘If it’s Cheon Jumyeong, he might try to sever my limbs while I’m tied up in the Heavenly Thunder Corps.’

This part… might actually call for enlisting the help of the main house, even if the cost outweighs the benefit.

“You seem deep in thought.”

Cheon Jumyeong smiled knowingly, as if he’d seen right through me.

“I was simply choosing the right words to thank you for your consideration, Lord Cheon.”

“Is that so? How very thoughtful.”

His expression relaxed a little as he took another small sip of liquor.

This was only the beginning of the second round between Cheon Jumyeong and me.

“Lord Cheon.”

“Speak.”

“What drives you to reach for the pinnacle of power—is it simple ambition? Or something more?”

“……”

He chuckled softly and gave his reply.

“Do people like us really need a reason?”

“…I suppose not.”

The only reason I asked was—

To find even the smallest opening in Cheon Jumyeong.

Honestly, whatever drove his hunger for power didn’t concern me in the least.

But if I could find even a sliver of space to drive a blade into—

That alone was enough.

‘There is a reason.’

I didn’t know exactly what fate had befallen Cheon Jumyeong in my previous life.

But the one thing I knew for certain—he had never betrayed the Cult, not even in the end.

Whether he desired power or simply survival… I was certain there was more behind his ambition than mere greed.

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