Extra 4 |
It was not only the members of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon who celebrated the birth of Cheon Yu-seol.
After the war was over…
Due to Woon-seong’s activities, three provinces of the world had been incorporated into the realm of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
In other words, whether they liked it or not, the sects in those areas had no choice but to defer to the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Because of that, as soon as the news of Yu-seol’s birth spread, the entrance to the Heavenly Mountains became crowded. No matter for what purpose they came, the sects showed their sincerity to the best of their abilities.
And it was not only the sects in the Heavenly Demon’s realm that visited the Demonic Cult.
“Hup, that one!”
“Isn’t that the flag of the Justice Alliance?”
The Justice Alliance also sent gifts.
Moreover, hadn’t the Justice Alliance and the Cult of the Heavenly Demon been allied together against the Cult of the Inverted Sky?
Of course, the Justice Alliance was not the only faction to send a gift. There were gifts from the Jegal Clan, the Mount Hua Sect, as well as the Shaolin Temple.
Each of those sects had their own Jade Knife and stood on the battlefield alongside Woon-seong.
“Oh, that one!”
The flag of the Justice Alliance was not the only one that surprised the martial artists visiting the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
“Aren’t they imperial messengers?!”
The Imperial Court had also sent gifts.
“I heard that the Heavenly Demon had been appointed as the National Historian…”
Before, when the present emperor had still been a king… The Emperor had promised to not only acknowledge the Cult of the Heavenly Demon as the state religion, but also to make Woon-seong, leader of the Demonic Cult, the national historian in exchange for the Demonic Cult’s help.
And of course, after the war, the Emperor had kept his promise. The Cult of the Heavenly Demon was made the state religion and Woon-seong was appointed as National Historian.
Becoming the National Historian was not really a big deal. Unlike the actual historians of the past, Woon-seong did not teach the emperor the doctrines of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
Even so, Woon-seong was still the National Historian in name. The symbolic meaning of the position was still the same since the Imperial Court directly sent an envoy to celebrate Yu-seol’s birth…
The celebration continued for several days like that.
At last, Woon-seong, who had completed all the schedules, let out a long breath.
“Hoo.”
“You look tired.”
Had she read Woon-seong’s tired expression? Ah-young approached him and quietly sat down next to him. She then rested her hand over Woon-seong’s and said, “It seems that dealing with people is the same, even if you’re a master in the Divine Realm.”
At Ah-young’s words, Woon-seong chuckled. He then turned his head to look at Yu-seol, who was sleeping soundly in her small crib, and said, “She slept well without waking up.”
“That’s good. I’m glad she is more docile than I expected.”
Ah-young’s eyes turned into crescents as she smiled.
But only for a moment.
Ah-young turned away from Yu-seol and made eye contact with Woon-seong. She had an extremely serious expression.
“I want to ask you something.”
“……?”
“I am…….”
As Woon-seong titled his head, Ah-young hesitated for a moment and struggled to speak.
“…I don’t want Yu-seol to undergo the same thing I did.”
Woon-seong’s eyes widened, thinking about the meaning behind those words for a moment.
Then Ah-young clapped her hands together, hurriedly adding, “Ah, of course, it was purely a matter of my ability that I did not become Heavenly Demon…”
Having grasped the true meaning of Ah-young’s words, there was a sad sort of affection in Woon-seong’s eyes.
He knew because they once considered each other rivals and competed for the throne.
How much had Ah-young wanted to rise to the position of Heavenly Demon?
However, her father and Woon-seong’s second master, the Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon, had not wanted Ah-young to become the Heavenly Demon.
There were two reasons.
The first was the weight of the position of ‘Heavenly Demon’.
The Heavenly Demon was the living god of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, a deity walking amongst mortals.
It was a position that should not exist.
So it was a position of solitude.
So it was a position of loneliness.
The Moon Cleaving Heavenly Demon did not wish for his daughter to be forced into a life of solitude for the Cult. That was why he did not want to hand over the position of Heavenly Demon to Ah-young.
And second…
The second reason was that there had been no women among the Heavenly Demons of the Demonic Cult.
In their 1000 years of history, there had not been a single woman who had ascended to the throne of the Heavenly Demon. Not only had there been no female Heavenly Demon, there had never even been a female Young Leader.
Because of this, there was a strong preconception that the Heavenly Demon was to be a man.
So, for these two reasons, Ah-young had not been able to ascend to the throne of Heavenly Demon.
Well, since Ah-young’s abilities hadn’t been comparable to Woon-seong’s, there were technically three reasons…
Obviously, Ah-young was not projecting her dreams onto her daughter. As if to prove that, Ah-young had added onto her statement: “Of course, only if Seol-ah wants it. If Seol-ah doesn’t want it, it won’t happen, right?”
Woon-seong nodded, “That’s how it will be.”
He turned his head and looked at Seol-ah. She was a newborn baby who had not yet grown hair.
Was it because she was his daughter? The sight of her sleeping with her eyes closed was incomparably cuter than anything else in the world.
What if this little girl grew up and wanted to become the Heavenly Demon?
Then I will let you become the Heavenly Demon.
He would equip her with martial skills that no one could ignore.
He would make sure that no one could oppose her ascension to the throne of the Heavenly Demon.
Ah-young, who understood Woon-seong’s intentions, answered with a smile.
It was a very bright smile.
It was not a well known fact, but Woon-seong was a fool for his daughter.
Whenever Yu-seol held onto his fingers or laughed in his arms, he would make an expression of bewildered content.
It was the first time Ah-young, who had lived with him for years, saw such an expression.
So Ah-young quietly covered her mouth as she laughed.
I didn’t know he had this side to him, she thought.
In her youth, the Woon-seong she knew had only been ruthless, ruthless enough to call him cold-blooded.
But now, with his daughter in his arms, he looked like a doting father.
Of course, that didn’t mean Woon-seong always looked like that.
He showed this human side only in front of his daughter, while externally maintaining the aspect of a tyrannical emperor.
That was why Ah-young, who saw both sides of Woon-seong, couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
Ah-young shook her head quietly as she watched Woon-seong poke at his daughter’s cheek with a finger. “Come to think of it, you said you were making Hongju [1] for her, did that go well?”
Woon-seong nodded. “Of course. Someday, when I open the Hongju… I made so much that everyone in the Cult can taste some.”
There was a rumor that the Leader had ordered an underground stone chamber to be dug in order to store all of it.
Ah-young shook her head nervously at the thought but still smiled.
The appearance of Woon-seong as he was now…
This scene…
It wasn’t so bad.
Time was like a flowing stream.
Soon it had been 9 years since Yu-seol was born.
A lot had changed during that time.
Both Gwan Tae-ryang, Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit, and Sa Ryong-hui, Captain of the White Ape Unit, rose to the position of Demonic Master.
The two were able to rise to that position because of their skill, but it was also largely because there were two vacancies among the existing Demonic Masters.
Two vacancies?
One of them was due to illness.
Among the Demonic Masters, the second eldest after the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon passed away, unable to overcome the years.
The other vacant position was Lee Shin-jung’s.
However, that did not mean that Lee Shin-jung had passed away. He’d simply stepped down.
The reason he gave for this decision was that as he got older, he was physically weaker than the youths.
Woon-seong knew that wasn’t the truth.
Unsurprisingly, Lee Shin-jung’s strength was second only to Woon-seong’s in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Although his stamina and energy had decreased, he had the strength and experience to overcome that.
Nevertheless, the reason Woon-seong allowed him to step down was simple: because Woon-seong knew the man wanted to give his juniors a chance.
Lee Shin-jung did not completely withdraw from the frontlines. He simply stopped showing up on the surface. He was still the second strongest person in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, and at the same time, the leader of the Unrecorded Demonic Group.
If he wanted to, Lee Shin-jung could exert great power within the Demonic Cult. However, since Woon-seong did not call for him, he quietly held his breath.
Then there were Woon-seong and Ah-young.
Even after 9 years had passed, Woon-seong and Ah-young did not have major changes in their appearances.
It was said that the passing of time felt different to a high-level master.
Their faces still looked incredibly young, making it hard to believe that nearly a decade had passed.
If there was a difference, it could be said that their eyes had grown deeper.
To begin with, Woon-seong had a much greater mental age than that which could be seen because of reincarnation.
And then 9 more years had passed on top of that.
With the addition of his years as the leader of the huge group called the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, Woon-seong’s eyes had become so deep that it was difficult to even look into them.
Even if he didn’t raise his energy, just looking into those eyes would make someone feel a bit of fear.
There was something different about Ah-young, too.
Perhaps it was her mature bearing.
Unlike when she was younger, she now looked like the Lady of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, no matter who was regarding her. It was not that she looked older perse, but that the air of dignity and sophistication had increased.
Unlike the two parents who had changed subtly over the years, Yu-seol changed day by day.
As the child of Woon-seong and Ah-young, she showed great talent in martial arts from an early age.
Not only in martial arts itself, but in the knowledge and understanding of martial arts too. It was difficult to find anything lacking.
Her level of achievement was also incredible for a 10 year old.
Needless to say, first-rate warriors were at the level where it was enough for them to claim to be a leader or an elder of a small or medium-sized faction.
But a 10-year-old child had reached that level?
Her personality was also quite lively. Perhaps she had been influenced by her mother?
Even in the midst of this liveliness, she had the qualities of a king hidden in secret.
For this reason, the warriors in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon were already having a hard time dealing with the young Yu-seol.
And…
Woon-seong, who was watching Yu-seol’s growth, made a small decision one day and told Ah-young:
“I need to go on a trip with Seol-ah.”
[1] Hongju is a type of red-colored liquor
