Chapter 158: Social Life (1)

The moment I heard the name Cheon Yujeong.

Regardless of our current relationship, I felt a twinge of pity for her.

‘She is also a blood relative of the Cult Leader….’

If what was written in the records was true, she was the biological older sister of Cheon Yura.

And yet, she wasn’t even allowed to call their father her father.

‘That must be why she wants to eliminate Cheon Yura more than anyone.’

If there was anyone in this world who harbored the deepest hatred for Cheon Yura, it was undoubtedly Cheon Yujeong.

‘I heard she’s been running around trying to gain the support of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.’

In fact, she had been one of the biggest victims in the last incident.

Thanks to my involvement—and the Cult Leader’s unpredictable whims—the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, which had remained neutral, ended up siding with Cheon Yura.

‘By now, she must be seething with poison.’

Naturally, Cheon Yujeong’s position would have become severely disadvantaged.

Of course, since there were no other alternatives, the Cheon Clan would have to continue backing her.

‘She’s a woman like a pot of poison—one that could explode at any moment.’

If things went wrong, even the Cheon Clan supporting her might suffer fatal damage….

At that moment—

Click!

Suddenly, a sound of something being pressed beside me interrupted my thoughts.

“…Lady Cheon?”

The Moonlit Sword Blossom she had been wearing slipped from her face.

And the bare face of Cheon Yura, which had been thoroughly hidden until now, was revealed under the moonlight without a single filter.

‘…Ah!’

The usual calm, expressionless face.

And yet, no matter how many times I saw it, she was—undeniably—the most beautiful person I’d ever laid eyes on.

You might say I was blinded by love, but I didn’t care.

She was just that beautiful.

“Jin Yeomyung.”

“Yes?”

“I… don’t believe the ambush by the Murder Demon was merely his own decision.”

Her words made me pause for a moment.

“Why do you think that?”

“You said the Murder Demon is a cautious one. That under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t even show up unless the balance was broken.”

“That’s right.”

“I agree. However… the Murder Demon may be even more of a coward than you think.”

How many people in the world could speak so disparagingly of the head of one of the Six Great Demonic Clans?

But if it was her saying it, I couldn’t simply ignore it.

“You mean to say…?”

“In our last clash, I was able to somewhat read his intent.”

“……!”

“The Murder Demon… he was hesitating about something until the very end. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left things in such an ambiguous state.”

Certainly, her words made sense.

Even though I broke his formation with the power of gongjin, the Murder Demon still had plenty of strength left to continue the fight.

Even if I had offered to come to him myself, if his mind had been made up, he would’ve tried to end it right there.

“So there must be someone who influences the Murder Demon’s decisions.”

“I think so too. And if such a person exists, they’re most likely…”

“They’re likely connected to Cheon Yujeong or the Cheon Clan.”

“Exactly….”

From the beginning, today’s incident involved not only Gu Chil, but even an attempt to kidnap me.

If the Murder Demon wasn’t the one who orchestrated it, then there had to be a third party egging him on.

Her calm eyes turned to me.

“Maybe visiting the Hidden Shadow So Clan is too dangerous an idea.”

“…….”

“In the worst case, you could die the moment you arrive.”

Her words… were highly probable.

But—

“Well, what can I do? I’ve already promised.”

If I back out now, the So Clan will surely see me as an enemy.

If I hadn’t made a promise, maybe I could reconsider, but it was too late now.

Cheon Yura let out a sigh.

“Even if I tell you not to go, you’re going to sneak your way into the So Clan anyway, aren’t you?”

“Uh, well…”

“Even after I begged you last time, you still wouldn’t back down.”

“Um, Lady…”

A cold glare pierced through me.

I awkwardly averted my gaze, flustered.

Moments later, her voice lashed into my ears.

“You really are the biggest bastard in the world. Damn you.”

For a brief moment, I felt something sink deep into my chest.

But the feeling didn’t last long.

Swish.

“……!”

As soon as those words ended, she suddenly reached out and began gently caressing my cheek.

As if her cursing just moments before had been a lie, Cheon Yura now spoke with a faintly lonely smile.

“Then again, if you were someone who’d listen to words… I’d have chained you up and locked you away somewhere long ago.”

“…That’s… a rather unsettling thing to say.”

“I meant, try not to get too hurt.”

Without another word, she continued to lightly stroke my face.

From the eyes hidden beneath her sharp gaze, I could feel her worry.

Eventually, her hand left my cheek.

As the warmth that had been wrapped around my skin disappeared, I was overwhelmed by a strange sense of loss.

After that brief moment of happiness ended, she returned to her usual self and looked me straight in the eye.

“You and I… Tomorrow, we’ll both return to our respective battlefields.”

“I suppose so….”

Just as I had my own battlefield, so too did she.

“In this upcoming Seven Elders Council meeting, I plan to subdue the elders of the Cheon Clan who refuse to follow me.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Originally… I was going to use force to make them submit.”

She said originally, meaning her thoughts had changed.

“You are my supporter.”

She let out a small chuckle.

“Isn’t there some good way to handle it?”

“…….”

I felt something stir within me as I looked at her.

“You’ve grown.”

“…Don’t look at me with such a fatherly gaze.”

Cheon Yura slightly pouted her lips, seemingly burdened by my gaze.

Of course, even that was incredibly adorable…

“Ahem! Hmph!”

I managed my expression and offered her the solution I had been thinking of all along.

“Forcing the Seven Elders Council to submit through power is practically impossible. I’m sure many among them have heavily bet on Cheon Yujeong.”

“On what basis?”

“Because Cheon Yujeong has achieved far greater success than her original talent suggested.”

Cheon Yura was certainly a once-in-a-generation genius, but if not for the fateful opportunity she found at Eastern Sea Fortress, she would still be stuck at the early Master Level.

But Cheon Yujeong had risen to a level comparable to that same Cheon Yura.

Which meant—

“Cheon Yujeong must have also gained some kind of fortunate encounter.”

“You think that encounter was the Cheon Clan’s elders?”

“Yes, almost certainly.”

I had once seen her spar with Baek Sang-ah at the Thousand-Day Pass.

Back then, Cheon Yujeong was definitely around Master Level, but in terms of internal energy output, she wasn’t significantly inferior to Baek Sang-ah, the daughter of Namcheon and a peak-level martial artist.

“That’s why, given the current situation, it would be far easier to win over the support of the Cheon Clan’s ordinary martial artists instead.”

“How?”

“Well…”

I leaned in and whispered the method into her ear.

Immediately, her expression turned sour.

“…You want me to do that?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a bit… off-putting.”

As expected, she revealed her distaste.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What do you mean it doesn’t matter?”

“With a great enemy like the Heaven-Defying Society, our cult can’t stay in hiding forever.”

“…That’s true.”

Even if she didn’t like my suggestion, she couldn’t deny that point.

“Besides, words can be interpreted differently depending on how you say them.”

“Isn’t your method basically fraud?”

“So what if it is? Once you take the position of Cult Leader… what could they possibly do about it?”

Something about that line amused her.

Cheon Yura gently raised a hand to cover her smiling lips.

“Pfft! That’s true!”

Her laughter began to spread across her whole face.

“Ahahaha! You really are the greatest con artist in the cult.”

“And you’re the one employing that con artist.”

Under the moonlight, we smiled at each other, face to face.

“Fine. I’ll follow the advice of my strategist.”

“It’s an honor as your tactician.”

With that, the mood between us ended on a warm note.

Like a secret midnight meeting coming to an end, it was time for us to part naturally, looking forward to next time—

Click!

She suddenly put her mask back on.

“…?”

For some reason, the eyes visible through the mask were trembling slightly.

“Next time…”

She hesitated, then whispered softly,

“M-my name… you can say it more casually…”

“…?!”

“Like you did earlier…”

“Lady? What do you mean…!”

I reached out to ask her to explain what she meant—

Flash!

The figure that had seemed so real just moments before shattered into light the moment my fingertips touched it, like a mirage dissolving.

It was a form of Illusionary Disguise Art so refined even the First Heavenly Demon would be impressed.

A one-sided exchange of techniques… or was it even an exchange?

“She really left with a bang…”

Damn it.

I sat crouched for a while, covering my face with both hands.

* * *

Cheon Yura’s last words had dealt me a serious psychological blow (?).

My heart was so excited that I even ended up being late the next day.

“V-Vice Pavillion Master. There’s a message from headquarters…”

“Yeah?”

As expected, I was summoned straight to the Heavenly Thunder Corps as soon as I arrived at Naming Hall.

The archivists there looked as though they were attending a public hearing, trembling with concern for me.

But the truth was, I just skipped a report because I was busy fooling around with Cheon Yura.

Inside the circular conference hall, many senior members of the Heavenly Thunder Corps had gathered.

“Come in, Vice Pavillion Master Jin.”

At the highest seat, a woman exuding a judge-like presence greeted me.

“I greet you, Vice Corps Leader.”

I gave a respectful cupped-fist salute toward the high seat.

Vice Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Thunder Corps, Ghostly Strategist Immortal Cheon Eunryeong.

Her estimated age was mid-40s, but she looked no older than her twenties.

Of course, anyone who could sense the eerie demonic energy she gave off would never mistake her for someone in her twenties.

Cheon Eunryeong tilted her head as she looked at my face.

“The dark circles under your eyes suggest you’ve had a rough night.”

“Uh, well… that’s…”

Caught off guard, I hurriedly changed the subject.

“…By the way, where is the Corps Leader?”

There were about fifty people present.

All of them had reached the early Master Level or higher—meaning nearly all of the Heavenly Thunder Corps’ leadership was assembled.

And yet, Cheon Jumyeong, the Corps Leader, wasn’t present?

‘Not just Cheon Jumyeong. Even those at peak level, like the Area Chiefs, are missing.’

I could roughly guess the reason.

“The Corps Leader and Elder Ilro have been summoned to the Elder Council. I, as Vice Corps Leader, have stepped forward as the mediator for this matter.”

“I see.”

While I nodded in understanding, inwardly I smirked.

‘A mediator, huh…’

Did that woman truly intend to mediate this situation?

As expected.

“You must have had a rough night due to the strange behavior of the So Clan. However, after experiencing such an incident, why did you disappear without sending any notice to the main division?”

I replied coldly.

“Is my disappearance more important than the fact I was ambushed?”

It was an impudent answer from someone much younger.

But Cheon Eunryeong wasn’t so easily shaken.

“That’s not it. However, what if your report had been timely?”

One corner of her lips lifted slightly.

“If that had been the case, couldn’t this situation have been dealt with before it reached the Elder Council?”

“……”

She was smiling, but it wasn’t a smile at all.

Cheon Eunryeong was clearly angry with me.

She was someone more devoted to Cheon Jumyeong than anyone else in the Heavenly Thunder Corps.

She was displeased that he had been summoned to the Elder Council over such a ‘trivial’ matter.

Well, regardless, I had something to say.

“How ridiculous.”

“What did you say?”

The moment Cheon Eunryeong’s expression slightly twisted at my words,

I unhesitatingly unleashed my next strike.

“If you had been ambushed by that ‘Murder Demon’, Vice Corps Leader, would you truly be able to guarantee that you’d have filed a report on the same day?”

“……”

Cheon Eunryeong’s lips clamped shut instantly.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep