That night.
Seol-Hwi looked around the room on the second floor which was assigned to him and found nothing out of the ordinary.
There was no save point and there were no objects to combine martial arts.
Maybe this was expected.
If his previous life was designed by someone, then his present life didn’t involve any minor intervention at all.
Now is the time to accept such a fact.
And the next morning.
Seol-Hwi rubbed his eyes on his way down to the first floor when he heard someone was visiting.
An old man with a white beard which went all the way down to his chest greeted him with a bright smile.
“It might be too much, but I am here to train you.”
He introduced himself as the one in charge of the training of the subordinates who became new secret warriors.
“Are you the one I will be teaching?”
“No. I am not alone.”
There was Ma Taryong who had the role of vice captain, and the instructors who had individual inclinations were in direct charge of education to those who were now members of this order.
Shh
A thoroughly used book was brought out. Seol-Hwi took it and wrote it down.
Because he was somewhere new, it seemed that there were now quite a few new people who he would have to remember.
And a short time passed.
Seol-Hwi and the trainer climbed the mountain behind the building.
Woong
The wind at the summit was strong. There was a large veil next to a large rock at the top. It seemed like people had stayed here from time to time.
Shh
The man sat on a rock of good size and Seol-Hwi also found a suitable rock opposite to him and sat down.
The man opened his mouth after choosing his words carefully.
“Do you know why the battle for the succession between the disciples of the Heavenly Demon takes place?”
“Isn’t that because the Sect Leader had announced in advance that he would choose the next Sect Leader before stepping down?”
“You are right. Officially that is.”
Officially?
This made Seol-Hwi ask,
“Is there another reason?”
“Actually, it is strange that the scramble of war is even happening.”
The man explained.
Originally the First Disciple was the one who would be the next Sect Leader, or so everyone believed that was how it should be.
Numerous sides had reached their hands out and offered to be his subordinates, but as time went on, his ability to expand his power diminished.
Of course those who didn’t receive the favor of the First Disciple weren’t happy, so they went to the Second Disciple.
“This is a natural thing. The problem is that the growth of the Third Disciple was too rapid.”
The elders of the Demonic Sect, who resigned from their posts, out of the blue began to take the side of the Third Disciple.
Thanks to this, the Third Disciple had gained more power than usual, so the battle for succession turned to a three way battle.
“This is what I consider the intervention of the Heavenly Demon.”
“The Heavenly Demon… why did he?”
Seol-Hwi was really curious with all of this as everything sounded strange.
Were they not reclusive masters? These are warriors who resigned from their positions to train alone.
He stopped them from doing that to support the Third Disciple? Why did he involve them in the power struggle?
“Although some say that it is because he was concerned about the balance of power being titled too far in one direction… I saw it as something different.”
“Then… what is your opinion on this?”
“It was because… he wanted a play.”
“A play?”
Seol-Hwi felt his brow twitch.
“Right. Killing each other and killing the men under you, along with tactics such as deceit, manipulation, and other strategies to harm each other. How will the disciples he raised die in such a fight…? He must have wanted to see it.”
They are normally called a poisoner.
Someone who collects a lot of poisonous animals like snakes, toads, and scorpions and puts them all in a jar at once.
The animals within will initially look out for one another, but once hunger comes into play, all gloves are off and they eventually start to duke it out.
In the end, the one who survives will have the most vicious poison within.
“…”
Seol-Hwi, who learned the old man’s thoughts, was speechless. That was how shocking it sounded.
Can the actions of risking the lives of countless people countless times in order to get this far be a game for someone?
He couldn’t imagine this. Could it be someone with a heart of iron did this?
“The death of someone is seen as a game? Does that even make sense!”
Seol-Hwi screamed as he got up.
“It is just speculation. But it is not entirely wrong. He is an absolute being for us.”
The man shook his head with a bitter expression.
“The Heavenly Demon is like the sky for us, and his thoughts are difficult for ordinary people like us to understand or even judge.”
It is said that a bird can travel thousands of miles with its wings. If a person who is like the head of the Demonic Sect intervenes in the existing struggle of his disciples, then there had to be a purpose.
“To him the life or death of his subordinates is not important. The way we fight and do our best, it brings inspiration to him.”
Damn it…
Seol-Hwi cursed.
The leader of this place likes seeing death and killings.
Furthermore, he created such a power struggle that no one could take a step to the next level.
“What is his will by doing something like this? No, why come up with such an extreme way at all? There has to be some kind of reason for it all?”
Seol-Hwi calmed his anger as he asked.
It was strange to believe in a political battle which he had never thought of.
“It was just a year after the Third Disciple was chosen that it became known that the power structure had been established to a limit. And not long after that, the Heavenly Demon made the Earth Demon. Why do you think so?”
“Because the Earth Demon has the body of…”
“That is one reason. The existence of a fourth disciple itself is a variable.”
Just once.
The Earth Demon who possessed the potential to kill even a Supreme Demon.
A three way battle with the three disciples being stable and only the situation of fighting among each other.
The appearance of a fourth disciple meant the Earth Demon was coming out with fire and the will to fight.
“Ha…”
Seol-Hwi shook his head as things began to turn more difficult.
How the hell did the Heavenly Demon with such a crazy mentality appear? The disciples he taught were being pushed to kill each other.
It was a natural story, but when the disciples of the Heavenly Demon began to fight, they weren’t the ones dying.
It was the forces under their control.
If they fought for themselves, it would be a loss, but they had men below them and countless people got caught in the crossfire and ended up dying.
“In the eyes of the Heavenly Event Order Captain, what does the current situation look like? The disciples that is.”
“…”
When Seol-Hwi went silent, the man started again,
“The First Disciple has the upper hand. If you could measure the strength of all of his disciples on a scale of one to ten, then his would be a four overall.”
“And the others?”
“Now, the Second Disciple’s would be three, the Third Disciple a two, and the Fourth Disciple a one.”
As I thought.
The Earth Demon’s power was one out of ten. No, actually it could be less than that.
The other disciples had better people under them.
For the Earth Demon, a Peak Demon level warrior meant a lot.
“But do not worry too much. Although it’s a one out of ten, depending on the circumstances, it can be four or five.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“Even if he cannot rise up to the position of Sect Leader by himself, he has the power to knock someone down.”
But.
It wasn’t wrong.
The Earth Demon is a Heavenly Demon Killing Star. When his power explodes he is the most absolute warrior. Regardless of whether the opponent is skilled or not, if he recklessly blocks their path, he has a chance to take them down at the cost of his life.
I am sure he plans to do it.
“And the Earth Demon already has a plan on how to deal with other disciples.”
“…!”
“That is also the reason I came, Captain Seol-Hwi.”
His eyes looked deep.
Meanwhile, at that time.
The Fourth Disciple, the Earth Demon was walking around.
“I am not sure if we are late or not.”
Cheon Kwang, the first rank escort, spoke with concern.
The time according to the sun is now 9.
It was originally a meeting which should have started around 7 to 9 am, and the Earth Demon was late.
“Well, whatever it is. It feels good.”
The Earth Demon looked relaxed.
He actually felt very good. He was quite patient with this.
He is one of the four disciples.
The First, Second, and Third Disciples all ignored and despised him. Not only did they want him to bow to them, but everyone under him had to be twice as cautious of others.
However this time, an unexpected subordinate of his caused great damage to the troops of that sassy Second Disciple.
For the Earth Demon who was patient, waiting for the stomach ulcer to heal, this was the best medicine, so his footsteps were light.
It will not be a huge deal.
However, seeing him like this, Cheon Kwang was worried.
After a while, the two arrived at a pavilion which had an artificial pond. As expected, the Earth Demon was able to see his sahyungs all there.
“You stay here,”
Said the Earth Demon to Cheon Kwang and walked ahead.
“I am a little late,”
Said Earth Demon as he greeted them in the quiet atmosphere. Actually, the atmosphere seemed to have been cold even before he had arrived.
They all looked at each other.
“…”
The First Disciple was leaning against a pole, the Second Disciple was on the railing of the ground, and the Third Disciple was sitting on a chair with a fan covering her face.
When none of them responded, the Earth Demon naturally climbed up to the pavilion and sat down.
Right.
“Cheeky bastard,”
Said the First Disciple.
“The world has turned upside down. You, the last in rank, are making your sahyungs wait?”
A voice mixed with anger. He was normally harsh, but this was too much. It felt like something else in the back of his mind was fueling his anger.
“I apologize. I have been working on something else…”
The Earth Demon stood up and bowed again.
“What have you been working on?”
“That is…”
The Earth Demon’s expression had gone stiff.
The cold gaze of the First Disciple was trying to make a point here, and realizing that, the Earth Demon said,
“I am sorry but it is hard to speak about.”
“What?”
The First Disciple frowned, but the Earth Demon wasn’t done.
“It’s just that sometimes I am late, please understand that. I am also someone who handles troops. No matter how important you all are, I don’t think there is a reason to speak about such things with you.”
“…”
“Oh.”
In an instant, the atmosphere changed.
The First Disciple’s eyes changed, and now the Second Disciple and the Third Disciple turned to him.
The Earth Demon, their sajae, who had been obeying their words was now speaking back.
It was surprising that he was now acting like this.
“This guy… you were acting like a coward until now, do you suddenly have a death wish?”
When the Earth Demon began to speak back, the First Disciple couldn’t handle his anger.
Tremble
The ground around him began to shake. Formless killing intent began to gather up.
Invisible qi.
It was said that someone on the Supreme Demon level can use this to kill people without even touching them.
A huge presence which no one could handle was directed at their sajae.
“Huh. Calm down sahyung. Truth be told, his words are right, and wasn’t it always us who were late?”
The Demon Lord intervened.
The content of what he said was rather dry, but his expression said a lot.
“Right. Brother. It is the first time… let it be. Wasn’t he always a sajae who listened to us?”
“You…”
Was it because two other disciples took the side of the Earth Demon? The energy slowly receded.
“Earth Demon, you went too far. Apologize to the sahyungs.
“…”
Earth Demon turned to the First Disciple, and he knelt down.
“My words were harsh great sahyung. I beg your forgiveness.”
“Huh.”
The First Disciple looked at him.
As time passed, so did his anger, and he was back to his cold expression.
When the atmosphere died down a little, the Third Disciple changed the topic.
“But sahyung, I heard the Mount Hua camp was completely trashed, is that true?”
And these were words which threw oil back into the fire, reigniting the flames which had started to go out.
