Chapter 168: Summoning of the Seven Elders’ Council (2)

Two hours before the Grand Assembly of the Cheon Clan.

“This conference is going to break records in terms of attendance.”

First Elder, the one who had organized the Grand Assembly of the Cheon Clan, let out a hollow chuckle as he looked at the scene outside.

His eyes took in the many blood relatives of the Cheon Clan gathering one after another at the open-air conference hall.

“I heard even those who were active outside the Ten Thousand Mountain Range are gathering.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Cheon Yura, who was having herself adorned by attendants behind First Elder, responded calmly.

“The grander the stage, the better.”

She had dressed up quite a bit back when confronting the enigmatic woman known as “Moonlit Sword Blossom,” but today’s Cheon Yura was on a completely different level.

If anyone from House of Slaughter had seen her right now, they’d have immediately lost their senses and dropped to their knees.

“I did summon this meeting at your request… but allow me to give you a word of advice out of concern.”

First Elder’s eyes glinted sharply.

“If you’re planning something shallow, like publicly challenging Yujeong to a duel, it’d be best to abandon the idea now.”

He still remembered Cheon Yura’s declaration that she would subjugate the Seven Elders’ Council through sheer force.

“This stage has gotten too big. If you were to propose a duel with this many people gathered, you’d become a laughingstock.”

No matter how powerful the Heavenly Demon Cult was, even it couldn’t force its way into a prestigious family’s long-standing tradition with brute strength.

Only when tensions reached an absolute breaking point would a primitive solution like a duel ever be proposed.

“I understand, First Elder.”

Cheon Yura nodded readily.

“A cheap tactic like that wouldn’t be enough to shake Cheon Yujeong or the Seven Elders’ Council.”

“…And yet you’re the one who brought up that cheap tactic.”

First Elder stared at Cheon Yura with a look of disbelief.

“Mmm, I was being a little foolish. I’ve reflected on that.”

Her shameless smile was so thick-skinned, it was impossible to guess how many layers of steel she must’ve laid over herself.

First Elder’s mouth hung slightly open at her audacity.

Just then, a voice full of disapproval came from behind Cheon Yura.

“Yura, it seems you need to learn what ‘harmony between husband and wife’ truly means.”

Everyone except for First Elder and Cheon Yura immediately dropped to their knees.

“We pay our respects to the Cult Leader!”

“You’ve arrived, Cult Leader?”

The Cult Leader gave a slight nod to First Elder and turned to look at his daughter.

“I wonder who taught you to speak in such a disgraceful manner.”

“……”

Cheon Yura turned her head away, ignoring the remark.

“Up until last year, you were such a pure child…”

The Cult Leader sighed and shook his head in disapproval.

First Elder burst out into hearty laughter at the scene.

“Ha ha ha! Don’t be too hard on her. It’s not necessarily a bad change, is it?”

Though slightly flustered, First Elder welcomed the change in Cheon Yura’s attitude.

Leading an enormous organization like the Heavenly Demon Cult required that kind of flexibility.

“One must learn to distinguish between flexibility and shamelessness, though…”

The Cult Leader sighed again and spoke to Cheon Yura.

“As you requested, all preparations have been made.”

Cheon Yura smiled faintly and bowed her head.

“Thank you for indulging my whims, Cult Leader.”

“It’s nothing. I, too, agree that the balance of power in the Central Plains must not be broken.”

The Cult Leader shook his head with a helpless smile.

“Though making ‘a declaration like this’ for that goal is… a bit absurd, to be honest.”

There was a secret pact known only to the Cult Leader and Cheon Yura—so confidential that even First Elder had not been informed of it.

“All that’s left now is for that little brother of yours to return alive from House of Slaughter.”

“……”

“I heard from Cheon Jumyeong that Jeok Rua has been seizing real power in House of Slaughter for years now, chasing foolish dreams. Apparently, the Illusion Clan has joined her cause as well.”

To the Cult Leader, Jeok Rua was like a painful thorn in his side.

“Her desire for revenge against me is justified. That’s why I chose not to interfere—out of debt to ‘her’—until she bared her fangs in direct retaliation.”

A faint trace of killing intent entered the Cult Leader’s eyes.

“But upon hearing that she allied with them to exact her revenge…”

Even the Cult Leader had only recently received that piece of intelligence.

Cheon Yura’s expression changed.

“Then isn’t Jin Yeomyung in danger?”

“The one staying with the So Clan will intervene. So there won’t be any serious trouble. More importantly…”

An unusual glint of interest flickered across the Cult Leader’s face.

“I’m curious to see how that man who calls himself your little brother’s master will act.”

“……!”

“If he truly cherishes his disciple, as you claim, he won’t let him die.”

***

Among the crowd of Cheon Clan members gathered…

There were six seats arranged at a rather secluded high table.

The Grand Assembly of the Cheon Clan was traditionally only open to those bearing the Cheon surname.

But one exception existed: the heads of the six families known as the Six Great Demonic Clans.

Usually, these clan heads didn’t even bring an attendant, and it was rare for them to participate in such meetings.

Yet today, a rare sight unfolded—five of those six seats had been filled.

“You’ve come.”

Jin Gun-ak looked toward the faintly present figure of Murder Demon, So Munyak, who always kept a low profile.

“You call someone else’s son into your household, then come out here on a picnic—how generous of you.”

“……”

So Munyak didn’t respond to Jin Gun-ak’s jab.

“And now you’re trying to take away the son of my beloved Chief Steward? Since when did the So Clan become so shameless?”

The other clan heads of the Six Great Demonic Clans watched with keen interest.

They had heard rumors of bad blood between the Jin and So Clans, but they hadn’t expected things to be so blatant.

“……”

Despite being insulted so directly, Murder Demon showed no particular reaction.

“Hey now, if someone talks to you, shouldn’t you at least respond?”

Rather, it was that calm demeanor that made Jin Gun-ak’s expression twist further in irritation.

Then—

Murder Demon, who had been silent, finally opened his mouth.

“Observe.”

“…What?”

“That was the advice ‘he’ gave me.”

“‘He’?”

“He said this might be the last chance to undo a mistaken choice.”

“…?”

When Jin Gun-ak was still trying to make sense of what kind of nonsense he’d just heard—

Ma Seong-hwan, who had been sitting with his arms crossed beside him, suddenly opened his mouth.

“So, that man really was with the So Clan?”

“…What, are you two in on something I don’t know about?”

Ma Seong-hwan ignored Jin Gun-ak’s comment and continued speaking.

“If he’s kept his promise with the Cult Leader, then there shouldn’t be a problem. He’s someone said to be able to read even Heaven’s will—if he doesn’t have ill intentions, then his advice likely won’t go astray.”

Murder Demon calmly listened to the Sword Demon’s words.

“However, even if one manages to undo a wrong decision… it always comes with a price. You understand that, right?”

“……”

Nod.

When Murder Demon quietly nodded, the Sword Demon let out a faint smirk and turned his head.

“Then that’s enough.”

“You bastards… are you deliberately leaving me out now?!”

“Jin Gun-ak, maybe you should take some speech lessons from your son.”

“The hell did you just say?!”

Just as Jin Gun-ak was about to explode—

“The Young Cult Leader is entering.”

“…!”

Just as he said, Cheon Yura appeared at the top of the stairs, adorned in splendid garments.

“The Young Cult Leader.”

“It’s the Young Cult Leader.”

Many people held their breath as they gazed at Cheon Yura’s entrance.

Even Cheon Yujeong, who by clan law was treated as a collateral member, looked up from below at Cheon Yura.

“……”

She said nothing. She wore no expression.

She simply stared with eyes filled with indescribable malice, jealousy, and a hint of longing.

As countless eyes focused on her, and she looked down at the gathered crowd, Cheon Yura opened her mouth.

“To the great bloodline who has been granted the surname of Heaven, I, the successor to the next Divine Seat, the Young Cult Leader Cheon Yura, now speak.”

Her voice, imbued with internal energy, rang out clearly across the more than a thousand blood relatives of the Cheon Clan.

She proceeded with the customary greetings—thanking the Cult Leader, First Elder who had hosted the event, and the various members of the Cheon Clan.

When the greetings ended, she got to the point.

“Many of you must be wondering what I intend to say here today.”

There was no reply, but many inwardly agreed.

“Everyone gathered here knows that opinion within the Cheon Clan is currently divided. Many are supporting not me, the Young Cult Leader Cheon Yura, but someone else.”

“…!”

“…What is she thinking?”

The heads of the Six Great Demonic Clans tilted their heads at her words.

“She’s raising the status of her rival on her own… Did I misjudge the Young Cult Leader?”

Saber Demon muttered with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

Just as he implied—

In a setting this grand, for Cheon Yura to acknowledge Cheon Yujeong’s existence was effectively admitting that the other was a worthy rival.

Normally, it was the kind of statement that should never have been made.

“Let’s just listen for now.”

The Sword Demon interjected in a low voice.

“I, the Young Cult Leader, do not reject challenges. If anyone wishes to claim the position of Young Cult Leader, they are welcome to challenge me formally.”

Up to that point, there was no major resistance.

Most of those gathered had, one way or another, come to understand that Cheon Yura had reached the Extreme Martial Realm.

Especially her confrontation with the Heavenly Thunder Corps Commander—it had already become quite a well-known tale.

“But!”

Cheon Yura’s voice suddenly boomed like a lion’s roar.

“Now, as enemies from outside threaten our cult, does the Cheon Clan, which should be its backbone, truly have time to waste its strength in a civil war?!”

“Enemies… from outside?”

“Enemies, she says?”

The martial artists of the Cheon Clan blinked at one another.

“For thirty years! Despite numerous incidents, our cult and the Central Plains have experienced three decades of peace. But now! That peace is beginning to crumble—not by our cult, not by the orthodox sects, but by a third party!”

Murmurs spread through the crowd.

Some quick-witted individuals understood the implication behind Cheon Yura’s words and looked excited.

Those who already knew the situation, however, stared at her with pale faces.

“Cheon Yura…!”

Cheon Yujeong, one of those in the know, bared her teeth in fury.

“Our long-standing enemy, the Murim Alliance, is now being consumed by parasites that have lived in the shadows of the martial world! They may be our enemies, but can we really stand by and allow the downfall of our thousand-year-old rival at the hands of others?!”

“Wait, is she saying—!”

“No way?!”

Cheon Yura pulled out a black token from within her robes and breathed energy into it.

At that moment, a black aura surged from the token and soared into the sky, carving a single character into the air.

-令 (Order)

“I, the Young Cult Leader Cheon Yura, through the Heavenly Demon Order, hereby proclaim the Heavenly Demon Cult’s advance into the Central Plains!”

“Uoooooooh!”

A thunderous roar erupted as the entire hall of the Cheon Clan quaked under the noise.

For thirty years, the current Cult Leader had held back the floodgates.

The Heavenly Demon Cult’s ambitions for the Central Plains had long been dammed up—but over time, that dam had become stagnant, festering with frustration and resentment.

And now, the woman named as the Cult Leader’s successor had just declared she would tear that dam down herself.

The reason didn’t matter.

The justification didn’t matter.

Advance into the Central Plains.

With those words, the young and middle-aged warriors of the cult had a fire lit deep within their hearts.

***

“Sh-She declared an advance into the Central Plains?!”

“Yeah.”

So Cheon’s jaw dropped in shock.

“N-No matter how high her position is, can the Young Cult Leader really make a decision like that on her own?!”

“Of course not.”

But even so, for her to have declared an invasion of the Central Plains—

“It obviously means she got prior approval.”

“…!”

So Cheon realized it instinctively.

This was one hell of a counterplay.

I covered my mouth with my hand and let out a twisted smile.

“The Sword King? If they want to impeach him, let them try. Do you really think they’ll have the luxury to pull that kind of stunt with the cult pressing down on them?”

“Wow… villain much.”

The way one side of my cheekbone rose—it really did make me look like some dark mastermind lurking in the shadows of the world.

“The very thought of dyeing the Central Plains in blood for the Young Cult Leader’s sake… absolutely demonic.”

“Huh? Why would we dye the Central Plains in blood?”

“…Huh?”

So Cheon tilted his head at my question.

“When the cult makes its advance into the Central Plains, doesn’t it usually turn into that kind of situation?”

“No, not quite. We will make a move into the Central Plains—but for now, we’ll just make it look that way.”

“……”

Just as So Cheon’s eyes started to take on a strange look—

“The important thing is buying time to reorganize from within. For the Sword King, and for us.”

“C-Can you even pull that off? You’re saying you’ll deceive the entire cult?!”

“I wouldn’t say it unless I could pull it off.”

Shffft—

Almost like that statement had pulled the trigger, I suddenly sensed the presence of about a dozen people approaching from afar.

“Myeong-oh!”

“Master!”

Before long, Myeong-oh and So Cheon also sensed the incoming presences and shouted in my direction.

Judging by the distinct presence, they weren’t assassins.

Yet the strange, alien energy they gave off—

‘Those must be the Demonic Soul Soldiers.’

Judging by the ripple of their aura, the claim that they’d killed someone at the super Master Level wasn’t a lie.

Still—

For some reason, I instinctively knew that whatever sorcery they were using wouldn’t have much effect on me.

“If we overturn two of the Six Great Demonic Clans, even with the declaration of advancing into the Central Plains, it’ll have no choice but to be delayed.”

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