Chapter 336 : Dawn (5)
Chapter 336: Dawn (5)
Watching Dokgo Ryong swear his loyalty to Wi Jin-hak made Il-mok muse to himself,
‘I guess instead of "like father, like son," this is more of a "like grandfather, like grandson" situation.'
For some reason, the sight of the two of them together kept overlapping with a memory from his days at the Hall of the Demonic Way with Dokgo Pae and Mak Ho-yeol.
'Well, I suppose Eldest Brother does give off a much different vibe, though.'
Whenever Il-mok watched Mak Ho-yeol or Dokgo Pae do their thing, they all came across as a bunch of idiots.
But Wi Jin-hak was different.
The man had actually followed through on his grand ambition to embrace every last soul in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
‘If it’s Eldest Brother, there's nothing to worry about.’
Il-mok turned his gaze back to the arena and gave a satisfied nod.
***
Because Wi Jin-hak was suffering from severe internal injuries, the Left and Right Guardians rushed forward to carry him, but Wi Jin-hak firmly refused their help.
"A vessel meant to become divine cannot afford to show weakness."
While the two Guardians stood there debating what to do, Dokgo Ryong stepped up without a word and supported Wi Jin-hak's body himself.
"Cult Leader, let us walk together."
"Family Head."
"There is nothing wrong for a Cult Leader to walk alongside his followers, correct? Besides, turning a blind eye to the silent struggles of the liege I serve is a grave act of disloyalty and deep disrespect. Please do not make me into a disrespectful man."
"...Very well. We walk together, then."
Having forged a deep bond through a fiery death match, the two great masters slowly walked forward, supporting one another.
"Waaaaah!"
"Long May You Reign!”
"The Heavenly Demon Descends! Ten Thousand Demons Obeys!”
The spectators roared and parted to clear a path for them.
As they made their way out of the arena toward the medical wing, a memory surfaced in Dokgo Ryong's mind.
"Now that I think about it, on the night of your late Master’s Ascension Ceremony, I actually had a rather interesting conversation with the Head of the Hyeokryeon Family.”
"What conversation?"
"This old servant asked the Head of the Hyeokryeon Family whether he intended to enter the succession war, but he declared he would not participate, and said something rather peculiar."
Dokgo Ryong paused briefly to turn the memory over in his mind before continuing.
"He said the vessel fit to be Cult Leader was already decided, and that coveting the seat would be nothing but the greed of an old man. In this old servant's view, it seems the vessel the Hyeokryeon Family’s fellow was referring to was none other than the Cult Leader. Hahaha."
"Hahaha! To think the real reason the Head of the Hyeokryeon Family sat out of the war was that he had already acknowledged my right to rule! My, that is a truly delightful story to hear."
Wi Jin-hak burst into a hearty laugh at Dokgo Ryong's words.
***
The Demonic Physician had caught the severity of Wi Jin-hak's condition at a single glance and poured everything into treating him.
A few days later, the enthronement ceremony was held once his internal injuries had recovered to a reasonable degree.
Led by the Head of the An Family, the ceremony was grand.
Though it felt somewhat modest compared to the Heavenly Demon Ascension Ceremony.
That wasn't because the An Family didn't recognize Wi Jin-hak’s legitimacy, but because of the ancient tradition of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Within the cult, the authority of a Cult Leader and the authority of a Heavenly Demon are two separate things. Hence why the less grandeur.
And so, after the ceremony and the banquet that followed had wrapped up by evening, Wi Jin-hak summoned Il-mok to the Lesser Sun Palace.
(TL Note: The Korean was actually Cult Leader’s Palace, but since it sounds so clunky, I decided to name it the Lesser Sun Palace.)
It was a truly surreal sight to behold.
Seeing his usually reckless brother sitting solemnly upon the grand throne of the Cult Leader was bizarre enough, but seeing the terrifying Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord standing obediently in attendance by his side made it feel even more disorienting.
"Believer Il-mok greets the Cult Leader."
Since the Heavenly Demon had ascended and he was no longer a Young Master of the Divine Cult, Il-mok referred to himself as a plain believer.
As Il-mok bowed in greeting, Wi Jin-hak laughed warmly. "Hahaha. When it's just the two of us like this, you can still call me Eldest Brother, youngest."
Il-mok thought it over for a moment, then accepted his Eldest Brother’s kind gesture.
"As you wish, Eldest Brother."
"Hahaha. Good. Now that all the ceremonies are done, do you have anything planned?"
"I was thinking of heading back to Tibet."
It wasn't that he actually had work to do there.
Tibet had already settled into a period of stability.
To begin with, the only real threat in the entirety of Tibet had been the Potala Palace itself.
Trivial annoyances like horse bandits, mountain thieves, or Unorthodox Faction’s scums practically didn't even exist there.
Since the Potala Palace had ruled over the region with an iron fist for hundreds of years, the monks had long since exterminated all those petty criminals to secure their own absolute authority. Because of that, the faith of the people in Tibet had been massive originally.
If it weren’t for the retarded choices made by the Left and Right Great Virtuous Ones, establishing a branch in Tibet and erasing the shadows of the Potala Palace in that place would be near impossible.
Either way, since the region was already stable, Il-mok had spent most of his recent time there gloriously slacking off and enjoying a peaceful vacation.
Well, aside from occasionally practicing his martial arts, lightly sparring with his maids, and giving them a few pointers, of course.
Whether Wi Jin-hak already knew what was really going on in Il-mok's head, or whether it was just coincidence, he shook his head.
"Youngest, Tibet no longer needs you there. Letting a believer's talent go to waste is its own kind of sin for a Cult Leader, so I'm planning to assign you something worthy of your abilities."
"...Something worthy of my abilities?"
Suddenly struck by an incredibly ominous premonition, Il-mok froze for a second before cautiously asking.
Wi Jin-hak nodded. "Indeed. We've all been completely distracted by the Ascension Ceremony and the succession war, but while we weren't looking, an urgent dispatch arrived from the Central Plains."
"Urgent news? Please don’t tell me it's related to those bastards from the Blood Cult.”
Wi Jin-hak nodded and answered. "The Martial Alliance and the hypocrites of the Central Plains joined forces and managed to track down the Blood Cult's headquarters, and wiped them all out in one fell swoop. Of course, it's a great thing that those pieces of trash who mass-murdered innocent civilians are finally dead. However, this massive victory will greatly boost the Alliance's power and hinder our Divine Cult's future expansion, making it a very complicated political headache."
"...Was there any word about the Jiangshi?" Il-mok asked as he recalled the jiangshi he had encountered in Sichuan.
Even when it hadn't been complete, the thing had radiated a horrifying aura, and his instincts told him there was absolutely no way the Blood Cult had been wiped out that easily.
"I heard that monster's head was ultimately chopped off by the Martial Alliance Leader. Still, it must have been quite a terrifying monster. Because I heard the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal arrogantly tried to hold it off all by himself and ended up getting brutally killed for it."
The Plum Blossom Sword Immortal was an elder of the Mount Hua Sect. He was hailed as Mount Hua’s Greatest Sword and one of the Absolute Masters of the Central Plains.
Among the Twelve Heavenly Pillars, he was considered one of the weaker members, a distinction the Mount Hua Sect alone refused to acknowledge, but still...
‘A person of that caliber stepped forward and got killed by the Jiangshi. Did that old fool arrogantly step forward to prove he wasn't the weakest, only to get instantly slaughtered by the Jiangshi?'
Il-mok thought briefly about how the Plum Blossom Sword Immortal had died and grasped the gist of the situation.
Since this was a massive raid organized by the Martial Alliance, several of the Twelve Heavenly Pillars must have participated in the raid together.
Simply put, it was a matter of ego.
No matter how monstrous that Jiangshi was, if several masters at the Realm of Truth had ganged up and launched a combined assault from the start, the situation wouldn’t have resulted in that embarrassment.
"Then I should make my way to Gansu Province?"
"Hahaha. As expected of my brilliant little brother."
Wi Jin-hak laughed with satisfaction and turned his gaze to Il-mok with eyes full of trust.
The way he sat in that Grand Throne and the look in his eyes faintly reminded Il-mok of their late Master.
"With the Blood Cult gone, the Central Plains are about to go through countless changes in rapid succession. In the middle of all that turmoil, it won't be easy to send reports back to the main headquarters here and devise plans one by one. I need a brilliant commander on the front lines who can make immediate decisions in response to the rapidly changing tides, so I am entrusting that vital role to you."
"Understood."
Il-mok mourned his vacation days and bowed his head.
'Well, it's true I've been slacking off and resting quite a bit lately. I guess it can't be helped.'
He'd been living in comfort ever since Tibet calmed down, and even during the Ascension Ceremony, his body had at least been at ease despite his heavy and bitter heart.
Not to mention that...
‘I will follow Master’s will. Well, the bare minimum at least.’
His late Master's parting request was still weighing on him.
"You have full authorization to use all the material and human resources operating under the banner of the Maitreya Luminous Cult to manage the situation. However, the Dark Shadow Pavilion is currently deployed on a highly classified mission, so please avoid calling upon them unless absolutely necessary."
After hearing Wi Jin-hak's final instructions, Il-mok paid his respects and stepped out of the Lesser Sun Palace.
Wi Jin-hak watched Il-mok's retreating figure with a fond expression, then turned with a serious face.
"Now will you tell me, Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord? Just what mission has the Dark Shadow Pavilion been assigned that even I, the Cult Leader, don't know about?"
At Wi Jin-hak's question, the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord bowed and answered.
"Please forgive my silence until now. This was strictly due to the final will left behind by the late Heavenly Demon before his ascension. It was the Supreme One’s strict command that I only reveal this secret to the individual who rightfully claimed the throne of the next Cult Leader. Now that you have become the legitimate Cult Leader, I will reveal the entire truth."
With that, the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord recounted everything that had happened.
"The matter involving the Dark Shadow Pavilion began with an incident between Young Master Il-mok and the former Council of Elders Chief, Deng Bi."
The shocking fact that the former Chief Elder was highly suspected to be a planted spy for the Imperial Palace.
The relationship between the Silver Moon Trading Company and the Eastern Depot.
And lastly, the near-death encounter of the Dark Shadow Pavilion Lord at the hands of the old eunuch known as the Grand Eunuch.
Upon hearing all of it, Wi Jin-hak's face flushed so red it looked ready to explode.
His hand gripped the armrest of the Grand Throne so hard it seemed on the verge of shattering.
"The Imperial Palace dared to meddle with our great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"
"Yes, Cult Leader."
"Then why did our Master just sit still and do nothing?"
Faced with Wi Jin-hak's question, the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord relayed the exact words the Heavenly Demon had said.
"Because the time was not yet right."
He recounted the late Heavenly Demon’s analysis of what would happen if they succeeded in killing the Emperor and plunged the Divine Cult into a prolonged war.
And lastly,
"Above all, the Divine Cult is currently growing at a rapid pace as things stand. The previous Heavenly Demon said that in ten years, the Divine Cult will have the strength to reclaim the Central Plains."
Having finished the full explanation, the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord bowed his head and kept his unease hidden inside.
He was anxious.
He was terrified that the famously explosive Wi Jin-hak would declare the cult to wage war with the Imperial Palace now and immediately.
"...Huu."
He repeated several deep breaths as if forcing his anger down.
Then Wi Jin-hak abruptly rose from the Grand Throne with a sharp motion.
The Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord was startled for a moment, thinking Wi Jin-hak was finally about to do something reckless, but what Wi Jin-hak did next went against his expectations entirely.
"Ten years. Are you certain Master specifically asked for ten years?"
"Yes."
"And exactly how long ago did Master utter those words?"
"A year and a half has passed since then."
"Then I too must become someone worthy of standing in our Master's place within the remaining time."
Before the Hidden Guard Pavilion Lord could even process what that meant, Wi Jin-hak was already walking toward the entrance of the Lesser Sun Palace.
"I'm going to the Secret Vault."
The Secret Vault, also known as the Heavenly Demon Secret Vault.
That was the place where the manual of the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts was sealed away, and the only place that both the Cult Leader and the Heavenly Demon could enter.
"Within eight years, I will become the Heavenly Demon."
***
Early the next morning, Il-mok set out from the main headquarters with only his four maids and headed for Gansu Province.
Since both Il-mok and the four maids were highly capable, there was no need to bring additional fighting forces, not to mention the fact that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was still short on manpower.
After a journey of roughly half a month, they arrived in Lanzhou.
"Young Master, we've been waiting for you. You have a visitor who came to see you."
Ouyang Mun greeted him with those words, and Il-mok couldn't help but tilt his head.
"A visitor? What visitor?"
He had been cooped up in Tibet and at the main headquarters for nearly two years, and he said Il-mok had a guest on his first day back?