The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

Tremble-.

Jang Hyeon's left hand, which was resting on the chair, was constantly trembling.

There was only one reason why his left hand was trembling so much.

It was clear that he was thinking of Cheon Myeong again in his head.

'Cheon Myeong...!'

Since hearing those words from Hong Yeorin, Jang Hyeon had often thought of Cheon Myeong.

Of course, it was not because he liked him.

In the first place, he only had bad memories of that guy.

Perhaps because he only had such memories, the things that had happened to him kept coming to mind when he was still.

'What the hell is this state I'm in because of that guy?'

As Hong Yeorin had told him at that time, no more money was coming in from the Finance Hall.

So he had managed to maintain the operation of the Jeok-un-gak by receiving support from his main family in a hurry.

But in the end, that was all; Jang Hyeon had not a single penny to use personally.

Since his main family did not look favorably on Jang Hyeon spending money on alcohol and women, they were only providing minimal support.

"..."

It had already been half a month since he had been forcibly banned from his beloved alcohol and women.

Jang Hyeon felt like he was going crazy.

Because of that, his desire for revenge against Cheon Myeong grew deeper day by day.

And now, whenever he thought of Cheon Myeong, the trembling of his body due to anger also became more severe.

Tremble-.

Was it a withdrawal symptom from not having had alcohol and women, or was it because of his anger towards Cheon Myeong?

Jang Hyeon's left hand was trembling particularly severely.

Squeeze-.

Jang Hyeon grabbed his trembling left hand with his right hand as if to forcibly stop it.

However, since his right hand was also not completely without trembling, the trembling rather became greater than before.

And in the end, Jang Hyeon gave up and let his two hands fall back to their original positions.

Creak-.

At that moment, the door of the room where Jang Hyeon was opened and a man appeared.

A man with a sharp impression.

The man looked at Jang Hyeon in the room and sneered.

"You look quite ridiculous."

"..."

"Did you get your hands on drugs in the meantime?"

The man asked, sneering.

There would be few people in the Demonic Cult who could speak to Jang Hyeon in such a way.

Since the man was also a person of the Five Great Demonic Families, just like Jang Hyeon, he could speak in such a way.

"...If you've come, sit down quickly."

Jang Hyeon said, as if he had no intention of dealing with the man's sneering.

Then, the man shrugged his shoulders and came and sat down opposite Jang Hyeon.

Jo Seokjin did not erase the sneer from his lips even when he sat down.

"So for what business have you come to see me?"

Jo Seokjin and Jang Hyeon were not close enough to share tea on a regular basis.

Rather, the two could be called competitors.

Since they were both Cheon Jin's disciples and were aiming for the next leader, their relationship could not be good.

"Let's get straight to the point."

When Jo Seokjin asked, Jang Hyeon immediately said.

"Cheon Myeong, take care of that guy."

Hearing that, Jo Seokjin finally erased the sneer from his lips.

"Come to think of it, there was a guy like that."

"..."

"I heard he recently returned to the main headquarters... but why him all of a sudden?"

"Don't ask for the reason."

"You're asking me to grant your request without even asking for the reason? I don't think I have an obligation to do that for you."

Saying that, the sneer that had disappeared from Jo Seokjin's lips reappeared.

Seeing this, Jang Hyeon frowned.

Although he didn't want to say this with his own mouth, it seemed that he had no choice but to do so in order to make Jo Seokjin move.

"...I see, so that's what happened?"

After hearing the story from Jang Hyeon, Jo Seokjin laughed as if it were interesting.

On the other hand, Jang Hyeon's face became darker.

Since he was talking about what had happened to him by Cheon Myeong himself, he could not be in a good mood.

"You're a foolish guy too. To be beaten by a guy like that?"

"...I don't know if you'll believe me, but Cheon Myeong is not as easy as you think."

"Isn't it that you're lacking?"

"Kuh..."

When Jo Seokjin said that, Jang Hyeon bit his lip hard.

If it were his personality, he would have drawn his sword right away, but hadn't he already expected this when he had decided to meet this guy?

Thinking so, it was somehow bearable to go through such a humiliation.

"Anyway... as I said earlier, you can take care of that guy, right?"

Swallowing his anger, Jang Hyeon barely asked.

"But why are you asking me to do it instead of doing it yourself?"

"Because I know that you are more capable than me in this area."

If he could have killed Cheon Myeong openly, Jang Hyeon would have done so himself.

However, no matter how much of an empty shell he was, he could not do anything to Cheon Myeong openly.

Isn't that why he had made such a request to Hong Yeorin first?

Although it had ended in failure... this time too, he had to proceed with the matter secretly as at that time.

So the person who came to mind was Jo Seokjin.

Although he was an annoying guy, he was a guy whose head rolled well in this area.

"Wouldn't you be able to take care of that guy without anyone knowing?"

"Well... that's true, but do I have to do that?"

"You heard what I just said! If you leave that guy alone, he will become a competitor someday. That wouldn't be very good for you either, would it?"

"As I said earlier, isn't it just that you were foolish and got beaten?"

"T-this... so you're just going to leave that guy alone!"

As Jang Hyeon shouted, Jo Seokjin was silent for a moment and fell into thought.

'I don't think that guy is very threatening.'

His thought that Jang Hyeon had been beaten because he was foolish had not changed.

However, one part that bothered Jo Seokjin's mind.

The part that Cheon Myeong had brought Hong Yeorin to his side bothered him a little.

'No matter how much of a worthless guy Jang Hyeon is, that woman sided with Cheon Myeong over Jang Hyeon?'

Jo Seokjin knew Hong Yeorin well.

A person who moves under a thoroughly calculated plan.

The person who would never move unless she thought it would be even a little more beneficial to her was Hong Yeorin.

But for such a person to stick to Cheon Myeong instead of Jang Hyeon.

And it is said that she had first sided with Jang Hyeon and had later changed her mind to Cheon Myeong's side.

'By what means did Cheon Myeong change Hong Yeorin's mind?'

That was the part that bothered Jo Seokjin's mind.

The fact that Hong Yeorin had changed her mind meant that she had acted that way because she thought Cheon Myeong would be more beneficial to her than Jang Hyeon.

No matter how much Jo Seokjin thought about it, he couldn't understand the reason.

What kind of help could a guy who had been thoroughly eliminated from the candidate for the next young leader due to Qi Deviation be?

No matter how worthless a guy Jang Hyeon was, if he had been Hong Yeorin, he would have stuck to Jang Hyeon rather than Cheon Myeong.

'Is there a part of him that I don't know?'

For now, he had no choice but to think so.

And whether that part was something he didn't have to worry about or not.

Jo Seokjin was now making that judgment.

"...I understand."

"What?"

"I will take care of that guy."

After a long silence, Jo Seokjin said.

Then, Jang Hyeon's face brightened for the first time since he had come here.

And the hand that had been trembling until just a moment ago was no longer trembling.

"Really?"

"Yes, it's not particularly for you, but come to think of it, it seems better to take care of it now."

It was still ambiguous whether Cheon Myeong would be a threat to him or not.

If so, it would be better to take care of it for sure now.

If there was anything that bothered his mind even a little, there was no need to just leave it alone.

"Good! With this, I can finally sleep peacefully."

Jang Hyeon said and laughed as if he were relieved.

And looking at Jang Hyeon, Jo Seokjin said with a sneer.

"With this, you owe me a debt."

"What?"

"Isn't that so? Since you came and asked me to take care of Cheon Myeong first, I think that's natural."

"..."

"You're not going to say something ridiculous like 'since he's a common enemy, I don't think it's a debt'... are you?"

When Jo Seokjin said that, Jang Hyeon couldn't hide his expression.

And looking at him, Jo Seokjin said as if he had known it.

"If you think so, then this matter is off."

"W-wait! Who said I thought so?"

"Didn't you?"

"Yes! I naturally think that I owe you a debt for this matter."

A laugh came out of Jo Seokjin's mouth.

Jang Hyeon's answer seemed to be quite satisfactory.

"Really? Then I must have been mistaken."

"..."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you can repay the debt you owe me someday."

Hearing that, Jang Hyeon was momentarily anxious.

'Did I come to this guy for nothing?'

Since he was a gloomy guy, he didn't know what kind of demands he would make of him later using this as a pretext...

Jang Hyeon had that thought for a moment, but he quickly corrected his thoughts.

'More than that, it's more important to get revenge on that guy.'

After all, that was a problem to worry about later.

If he didn't get revenge on Cheon Myeong now, he might burst with anger.

Thinking so, Jang Hyeon thought that it was a better judgment to have come to see Jo Seokjin.

'Die while regretting that you did such a thing to me!'

Although it was a little disappointing that he couldn't see Cheon Myeong's face when he died.

It can't be helped.

Now, the fact that the trembling of his hand had stopped was more satisfying to Jang Hyeon than anything else.

* * *

Chomp, chomp-.

A dining table overflowing with oil.

After receiving money from Hong Yeorin, the dining table of the Socheongak had become much more prosperous.

The days of eating only vegetables for every meal because they were short on money were now a thing of the past, and now the finances of the Socheongak were so abundant that it would not be enough even if all ten dishes were filled with meat.

"Phew-"

After finishing his meal, Cheon Myeong drank water with satisfaction.

As expected, a person has to eat meat.

When he had only eaten vegetables, he could never feel this much satiety.

Now, it felt as if his stomach was full, just like his dantian was full of internal energy.

'Mihwa's cooking skills seem to be improving day by day.'

Because of that, it seemed that he was eating more than his usual meal amount without realizing it.

Of course, overeating is not good.

But isn't it much better than eating insufficiently as before?

And since he moved through training that much, there was no problem in the end.

'For now, there will be no financial problems in the future.'

Since he had brought Hong Yeorin, who firmly held the flow of money within the Demonic Cult, to his side, as long as the Demonic Cult was not ruined, he would not starve to death for money.

Of course, Hong Yeorin had become his side semi-forcibly through Body Enhancement Pill.

But since her obsession with Body Enhancement Pill seemed unusual, it seemed that she would not betray him for the time being.

'Since I have money, I have some leisure.'

Of course, there was still too much to do in the future to be complacent.

But still, he could not deny the fact that he had more leisure than before.

Swish-.

At that moment, Cheon Myeong put his hand into his bosom and took out an egg.

Looking at the egg, the thought he had had before came to mind.

'Fortunately, I won't have to eat you.'

If things hadn't gone well, would he have really eaten this egg?

As he suddenly imagined that, a chuckle came out of Cheon Myeong's mouth.

"You should know you're lucky."

Cheon Myeong said playfully to the egg.

But at that moment.

Wriggle-.

Suddenly, the egg moved.

Startled by the movement, Cheon Myeong unknowingly dropped the egg.

And the egg slipped from Cheon Myeong's hand and fell to the floor.

Thwack-.

Hearing that sound, Cheon Myeong looked at the fallen egg with a frozen face.

'D-did it break...?'

The sound was quite loud to just ignore.

But on the outside, it seemed to be okay for now.

"..."

Fortunately, the egg didn't seem to have broken.

Confirming that fact, Cheon Myeong cautiously reached out his hand towards the egg.

Since it seemed to be in a good state, he was about to put the egg back into the pouch.

However.

Crack-.

As a crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the egg, Cheon Myeong unknowingly stopped his movement.

"..."

Even if he had dropped it from a fairly high place, does the egg of a spiritual beast break so easily?

At that moment, Cheon Myeong bowed his head deeply and fell into thought.

'Would it be okay to pick up the broken pieces and eat them?'

But still, it's the egg of a spiritual beast.

Wouldn't it be much more nutritious than a normal egg?

He kept feeling that it was quite a waste to just throw it away like this.

Peep-.

Yes, let's eat it raw, even if it's a waste.

Food is most nutritious when eaten raw.

Although it might be a little fishy, since it's the egg of a spiritual beast, he should be able to endure that much...

Peep-.

"...Peep?"

As a strange sound continued to be heard, Cheon Myeong raised the head he had been bowing.

Then, a small creature was flapping its wings in front of Cheon Myeong's eyes.

Discovering that being, Cheon Myeong muttered to himself with a bewildered face.

"...It hatched?"

The birth of a life.

It was a very moving moment.

(End of Chapter)