Chapter 280 : Triumphant Return (2)
Chapter 280: Triumphant Return (2)
It took about two weeks to travel from Lanzhou back to the headquarters in Xinjiang.
After a trip that felt long and short at the same time, they finally reached the main entrance of the headquarters.
"Safe travels, Chamber Master An Jeok-un."
"You as well, Young Master."
Chamber Master An Jeok-un exchanged greetings with a strangely cheerful expression before heading toward the Eight Trigrams Hall.
Strapped to his back was a cloth bundle.
Inside that bundle was the iron tablet they’d used to frame the Blood Cult for the Hao Clan massacre. To be safe, it had undergone various ritualistic treatments to conceal the ghostly energy and Blood Qi infused in the tablet.
Chamber Master An brought back the tablet mainly to destroy the evidence of that night, but more than that...
‘He reminds me of Physician Seo.’
It was mostly to satisfy his own curiosity.
'I bet places like the Eight Trigrams Hall and the An Family are just packed full of creepy shit like that.'
It was already bad enough that their places were full of toxic chemicals like sulfur and mercury; adding cursed items to the mix was just too much.
Yeah, staying away from sorcerers was definitely the right call.
After parting ways with Chamber Master An, they wandered through the compound for a bit before finally arriving at Windrock Palace, the place they could really call home after such a long time.
"I’ll get the bathwater ready."
Jin Hayeon immediately started giving orders to Jeong Hyeon and Ju Seo-yeon.
"Miss Jeong, prepare the bathwater immediately. And Seo-yeon, start cleaning the Young Master's quarters. I need to report the Young Master's return to Supreme One."
Taking a bath the moment he got back wasn't just because of Il-mok’s obsession with cleanliness. With Transcendence in reach, he wasn't in a state where he'd have a breakdown just because his body was a bit dirty.
No, he just wanted to look presentable and respectful since he was finally going to see his Master again.
"Seon-ah, you should come with me as well, at least until we reach your family compound."
At Jin Hayeon's instruction, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah sent him a sad look. She hadn't even entered the Hall of the Demonic Way yet, but she was already acting like a full-blown member of the Hidden Guard Pavilion.
"Then I'll come see you tomorrow, Big Brother."
"Go on. It was a long trip, so you must be tired. Go home and get some rest."
After exchanging brief farewells with Il-mok, Hyeokryeon Seon-ah left Windrock Palace with Jin Hayeon, and shortly after, Jeong Hyeon also headed out to fetch the bath water.
Il-mok watched Ju Seo-yeon diligently cleaning Windrock Palace for a bit until Jeong Hyeon came back lugging jars of water.
After washing himself clean with the water she'd brought, he emerged to find Jin Hayeon had also returned.
"Young Master, the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons said he would be waiting with the Divine Cult's senior leaders."
"Why are they waiting for me?"
When Il-mok asked with obvious bewilderment, Jin Hayeon answered with her usual expressionless face.
"He said it's because of the contributions you've made in the Central Plains."
Her face was flat as always, but something about her tone suggested this was totally expected.
It was like she was saying, 'You caused so much trouble out there, of course this is happening.'
"However, since we must keep our relationship with the Maitreya Luminous Cult hidden, only the senior leaders will be informed."
Hearing that, Il-mok sighed and got dressed in a hurry.
It was rude enough to keep his Master waiting, but with all the big shots gathered there, he couldn't exactly take his time.
Looking sharp in his clean clothes, Il-mok left Windrock Palace with Jin Hayeon and headed for the Heavenly Demon Palace.
When they reached the entrance to the Heavenly Demon Palace, Jin Hayeon stopped and Il-mok entered the place alone.
Inside, just over ten people had gathered.
Sitting in the grand throne was the Heavenly Demon himself, Hyeokryeon Il-hwi, looking at him with an amused expression.
Behind his Master stood the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord, and on the steps below him stood the Left and Right Protectors.
Lined up on either side of them were the heads of the different departments and the Family Heads of the Five Great Demonic Families.
Some were faces he'd met before, others he was seeing for the first time.
He'd directly met and talked with his Eldest Brother Wi Jin-hak, as well as the new Divine Guardian of the Sacred Order. But the newly appointed Chief Elder of the Council of Elders and Law Enforcement Hall Master were people he was meeting for the first time.
(TL Note: Can someone remind me when Il-mok met with the new Divine Guardian? I forgot, honestly. I remembered the old one got killed by the order of the former Chief Elder, but dont remember the appointment or the encounter of the new one. Maybe it was mentioned in passing when he just graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way?)
The same goes for the families. He’d met Hyeokryeon Cheon-gang of the Hyeokryeon Family, Baek Unhak of the Baek Family, and Ouyang Pae of the Ouyang Family in person, but the patriarchs of the Dokgo Family and An Family were new faces.
‘...I can tell just by looking at them which one is Dokgo and which one is An.’
One was a middle-aged man who looked just like Dokgo Pae, and the other was an old man who looked like a bored scholar.
'Hmm. So the newly appointed Chief Elder of the Council of Elders and Law Enforcement Hall Master haven't reached the Realm of Truth yet.'
Maybe it was because he was on the verge of achieving Transcendence himself, but Il-mok had a gut feeling that they were on the same level as him.
On top of that, the Dark Shadow Pavilion Lord gave off a similar feeling to those two.
'Well, the Realm of Truth isn't exactly handed out like candy.'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult might be a bunch of lunatics obsessed with martial arts who learn Demonic Arts as kids, but even here, mastering high-level arts to achieve Transcendence and reaching the Realm of Truth was incredibly rare.
'So there are about ten Realm of Truth masters left in the cult.'
Patriarchs of the Five Great Demonic Families, excluding the An Family. His Eldest Brother. The Divine Guardian and Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord. The Left and Right Protectors. And the Hall of the Demonic Way Master Yeom Ga-hwi, who wasn't here.
The An Family and Eight Trigrams Hall specialized in sorceries, so it felt somewhat incorrect to rank them using martial arts levels like the Realm of Truth.
The Lord of the Peach Blossom Ridge probably hasn’t achieved Transcendence yet, so he is off the table for Realm of Truth masters.
‘I recalled he gained some enlightenment while recovering from his dementia, but since he hasn’t undergone Overhaul Body Transformation yet, he's probably around my level.'
Finally, there was his Master sitting in the Grand Throne, but Il-mok instinctively realized something.
His Master, the Heavenly Demon, resided somewhere far beyond what could be contained within the Realm of Truth.
He hadn't noticed at all in the past, but now that Transcendence was within sight, he could vaguely sense it.
Just when he thought he reached the top of the ridge, he realized there was another mountain standing ridiculously high behind it.
And sitting right at the peak of the towering mountain that looked down on every being is his Master.
‘...So this is why those crazy cultists worship him like a god.’
It felt like he'd only now gotten a glimpse of the truth he'd always internally categorized as cultist bullshit. And that was only after reaching a high level himself.
While Il-mok was busy gauging the realms of the senior leaders gathered inside the Heavenly Demon Palace, the elders inside were also gauging Il-mok’s realm.
'...This is ridiculous.'
‘I heard the rumors about him being a genius, but this is insane.’
All of them were at least on equal footing with Il-mok, and most were stronger than him, yet they found it difficult to conceal their shock.
After all, Il-mok had only graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way just a year ago.
For him to be this strong already wasn't just fast; it was a growth speed unseen in the entire history of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
'Hehehe. That's our youngest for you!'
Wi Jin-hak was the only one trying to choke back a scream of delighted surprise.
After checking everyone out, Il-mok quickly dropped to the floor in a full prostration to greet his Master.
"This humble Eighth Disciple Il-mok greets his Master."
Even knowing that Il-mok had been gauging his level, the Heavenly Demon simply laughed heartily.
"Hahaha. It's been almost a year, but it feels like I'm seeing your face after even longer than the two years I sent you to the Hall of the Demonic Way."
"I’m sorry I couldn't visit more often, Master."
"Hahaha. Excessive courtesy is discourtesy, they say. You were busy with important matters, so it couldn't be helped."
As the Heavenly Demon stroked his white beard while smiling, Il-mok felt a strange emotion.
'...Something feels off. It's like he's aged a lot in just a year.'
It was odd.
It’s usually harder to spot changes in an old man than it is to see a kid growing up. But even though it had only been a year, the Heavenly Demon looked visibly older.
Whether he knew Il-mok's thoughts or not, the Heavenly Demon spoke again with a smile.
"The year probably felt longer because of all the news you sent, Il-mok. You really caused a stir in just one year, didn't you? Hehehe."
"It's all thanks to your teachings, Master."
The Heavenly Demon laughed at Il-mok’s blatant flattery. He usually hated flattery, but for some reason, hearing it from his youngest always put him in a good mood.
"Hahaha. Right. The reason I called you and the Divine Cult's senior leaders is to hear about what you’ve been up to for the last year. Since you were on a secret mission, most of the people here have no idea what you actually did."
Il-mok gave an awkward smile.
Having to list out his own accomplishments with his own mouth felt like he'd become some kind of braggart.
As if he could read Il-mok’s mind, the Heavenly Demon started the story for him.
"Right. If this old man remembers correctly, the first thing you did was deal with the Unorthodox Faction thugs in Gulang County, yes?"
"That's correct. After driving them out, I began spreading the teachings in Gulang County under the name of the Maitreya Luminous Cult."
"I heard you used quite an unusual method of proselytizing."
At the Heavenly Demon's question, Il-mok shared the various proselytizing techniques he'd employed under the name of the Maitreya Luminous Cult.
Starting with the classic “Do you know the Way?" all the way to singing hymns.
As Il-mok went on, the Heavenly Demon and Wi Jin-hak, who already knew the gist of it, chimed in to help transition the conversation.
Of course, there were some people who were dissatisfied with his methods and complained a few times.
"Lord of Ten Thousand Demons. Even if he had to hide his identity, hiding our Divine Cult's name and using a heretical name like the Maitreya Luminous Cult seems to violate our doctrine."
But before Il-mok could even make an excuse, the Heavenly Demon and Wi Jin-hak covered for him.
"In the end, the doctrine is what matters. As long as we spread our teachings and help the people, that's enough. Why get so worked up over a name?"
And so, Il-mok's story continued.
The tale of pacifying Lanzhou and creating the Maitreya Luminous Cult's estate, and tricking the Beggars’ Gang into working as laborers.
He told them about killing the bastard called the Ghost Valley Master on Mount Kongtong and taking care of the poor people of Pingliang County.
He explained how he dealt with the Hao Clan's schemes by opening a Faith Education Center.
And finally, he described going to Sichuan, hearing about the Heavenly Demon Secret Cave, stopping the Blood Cult’s plot, and bringing back the remains of the Blood Tears Heavenly Demon.
From a certain point in the story onward, no one expressed any dissatisfaction with Il-mok's tale.
And it wasn't just because the Heavenly Demon was backing him up.
'Is this really something a greenhorn who just graduated from the Hall of the Demonic Way could accomplish in just one year?'
The story was so wild that they were too busy being shocked to complain.
At some point, everyone in the Heavenly Demon Palace started listening to him like kids listening to a bedtime story.
And finally, when he reached the part about executing the Hao Clan Lord and inciting conflict between the Blood Cult and the Murim Alliance, those gathered in the Heavenly Demon Palace were practically ready to give Il-mok a standing ovation.
Il-mok, who had somehow ended up doing a humble-brag session, just gave an awkward smile at the applause.
And as their applause began to die down, the Heavenly Demon spoke with a smile.
"Hahaha. To pull all that off in just one year... isn't he amazing?"
Bragging about his youngest disciple like that usually would’ve made him look like a total doting dad, but Il-mok’s achievements were so crazy that no one even thought that.
"It truly is, Lord of Ten Thousand Demons."
"It is the grace of the Supreme One for recognizing and discovering the Youngest Master's talent."
"He can truly be called a great blessing to our Divine Cult."
As they all chimed in with comments that were half-sincere and half-ass-kissing, the Heavenly Demon nodded and added one more thing.
"However, our youngest's work isn't done yet. especially since the Maitreya Luminous Cult is still growing in the Central Plains, what he did out there must remain a secret."
"We shall follow the Supreme One's will."
"We will keep it firmly in mind."
"We won't breathe a word of this to anyone."
After delivering his final warning, the Heavenly Demon nodded at their vows and said.
"Well then, I have matters to discuss with my youngest, so the rest of you may return. If any of you wish to speak with him privately, feel free to visit Windrock Palace within the next few days. He won't be there after that."
Maybe he really just called them there to brag about his youngest, the Heavenly Demon dismissed the cult's senior leaders first.
Il-mok wondered if the whole point of this meeting was just to get his face known among the big shots.
But Il-mok didn't have the luxury to calculate political purposes right now.
'Damn it. Just as I expected.'
The only thing echoing in his brain was the last thing his Master said.
That in a few days, he would be practically kicked out of the Windrock Palace.
(TL Note: I’ll upload five more tomorrow if I have the time.)