How the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult Lives

Chapter 127: Innate Nature

Startled by the blade that perfectly pierced through his sword momentum, the Twin Might of the Moon Sword hurriedly moved.

It was a footwork clean enough to earn fair praise.

Even so, the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s blade traced a graceful curve and clung to him with dogged persistence.

In the end.

“Keugh.”

Letting out a ragged groan as he collapsed to his knees, the Twin Might of the Moon Sword was about to be finished off by the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s second movement—when Yul Han seized the blade.

He did not draw a sword to block it, nor did he deflect it with a weapon. Barehanded—thud, really just ‘thud’—he grabbed it.

It was not quite Force Energy, which was said to cut through anything beneath heaven, but Blade Energy was sharp beyond compare.

Sharp enough to cleave through iron and pass on.

Even as his own blade, vividly condensed with Blade Energy, was caught limply in that grip, the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon did not show surprise.

Because the owner of that hand was the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.

He was someone the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon had already acknowledged as having stepped beyond the bounds of humanity. There was nothing to be surprised about, nothing to fear.

As the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon respectfully withdrew and sheathed his blade, Yul Han smiled faintly and shouted toward the Crushing Faction martial artists who were still fighting fiercely.

“Hurry up and finish it. Aren’t you ashamed to face your leader? It’s already over here!”

Perhaps his words provoked them? Battle cries rang out from all directions, blood sprayed, and the outcome was decided.

Among the Crushing Faction martial artists, there were those who suffered heavy and light injuries, but none died.

Of course, none were defeated either.

Satisfied with that, Yul Han drew a pleased smile.

“Well done. Just keep doing as you are.”

Had they taken it as praise from the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult? A roar of cheers erupted from the Crushing Faction martial artists.

Waaaaaah!

Amid those cheers, Iron Demon approached the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon, who stood blankly in place.

“You’ve gotten pretty good at the Asura Sword Form.”

That was right. The martial art that had broken through the Twin Might of the Moon Sword’s sword momentum was the Asura Sword Form, one of the Four Sacred Arts of the Heavenly Demon, which the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon had recently been pouring his heart into mastering.

Executing swordsmanship as blade technique felt a little awkward, but it had penetrated properly.

At the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s crooked grin, Iron Demon bluntly added,

“Come see me later. I’ll teach you a move.”

The Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon’s eyes widened at those words.

In the Bright Cult, teaching someone—especially instructing a high-level master who was chasing close behind at terrifying speed—was practically considered an act of suicide.

That was why Iron Demon’s words, which transcended that norm, shocked him.

Iron Demon continued.

“It’ll be tough. You’ll have to train like you’re ready to die to keep up. I train with the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”

“Ah!”

The Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon even nodded, as if enlightened to a profound truth.

With a triumphant look, Iron Demon said,

“Jealous, aren’t you.”

That was right. This was what he had wanted to say all along when he offered to teach him.

He had been grumbling that someone weaker kept climbing up on him, and it seemed he wanted revenge in his own way.

At that, Profound Demon’s lips curved into a bitter smile—only for his eyes to widen.

The Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon clasped his fists in salute and bowed deeply toward the snickering Iron Demon.

“I will surely come to seek your instruction. Please keep your promise.”

He meant that he truly would come to learn.

Iron Demon, who had been staring at him in astonishment, suddenly twisted his expression.

At this rate, he would look like nothing more than a narrow-minded senior oppressing a diligent junior.

“Damn it!”

At Iron Demon’s low curse, Profound Demon chuckled under his breath.

Apparently displeased, Iron Demon snapped,

“Funny? You find it that funny, seeing your peer get humiliated by a junior?”

“Then should I cry?”

At Profound Demon’s retort, Iron Demon could only curse again and step back.

“Damn it!”

Watching him, Profound Demon smiled bitterly.

As if that irritated him again, Iron Demon glared—when Yul Han’s voice reached his ears.

“Bring that one here.”

At Yul Han’s words, it was Iron Demon who moved before the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon.

Thud. Thud.

As though venting his displeasure, Iron Demon kicked the fallen Twin Might of the Moon Sword and said,

“Quit exaggerating and get up. The Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult wants to see you.”

Cleverly striking only at the sword wounds, Iron Demon made the Twin Might of the Moon Sword flinch before he struggled to his feet.

Iron Demon dragged him over as if hauling a criminal.

Seeing that, Yul Han frowned slightly.

“The defeated are not criminals.”

“If he came intending to kill and lost, then he’s a criminal, Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult.”

Lately, Iron Demon had been talking back more often. In the past, he would never have acted like this.

<They’re fierce bastards. The moment you let them look down on you, they try to step on you and climb higher. Especially the moment they mistake consideration for entitlement, they’ll crawl all over you. That’s how they’ve lived. And if they do? What is there to debate? Just crush them. Don’t weigh conditions, time, or circumstances—smash them completely on the spot. That way they won’t entertain other thoughts. Well, if you don’t want it to reach that point in the first place? Then just keep crushing them from time to time. Like I do.>

It was something the Cult Leader had once said, claiming that I treated my subordinates too softly.

Had it truly been so? I asked.

“Do you have complaints about me these days?”

“It’s just that… you don’t seem like a martial artist of the Bright Cult.”

Even the way he tossed out the words and the look on his face were different from before.

As Profound Demon tried to stop him, I raised a hand to restrain him and said,

“Shall we have a sparring match for the first time in a while?”

“I see no reason to refuse.”

As though he had been itching for a fight, Iron Demon immediately took his stance. Facing him, I slowly lowered my sword.

His eyes widened as he recognized what that stance meant.

‘Half-Moon Slash!’

For a brief moment he was startled by the Initiating Stance of one of the Four Sacred Arts of the Heavenly Demon, famed for having unrivaled destructive power.

But he quickly suppressed his surprise and settled into position. The stance he assumed was that of the Asura Sword Form.

Half-Moon Slash and Asura Sword Form.

Profound Demon’s eyes widened as he realized that two of the Four Sacred Arts of the Heavenly Demon were about to collide.

In that instant, my figure vanished.

Even for Profound Demon, it was difficult to track my movement with the naked eye. When I reappeared, I was directly before Iron Demon.

Fortunately, Iron Demon met my charge head-on with the Asura Sword Form.

However.

The sword I had lowered swung upward in a single smooth motion, easily knocking aside Iron Demon’s blade as he unfolded the Asura Sword Form.

With his chest exposed, my foot—already lifted—lashed out toward him.

Thud!

Iron Demon was sent flying some distance away. As for Profound Demon, he could not conceal his shock upon seeing that the Asura Sword Form had been broken not by Half-Moon Slash, but by a mere upward sweep.

Having accomplished that as if it were nothing, I looked down at Iron Demon and spoke.

“The Cult Leader once told me that if there’s a fool who grows a little stronger and starts strutting around thinking the world beneath him, I should gouge out his eyes. Do you see the world that way too, Iron Demon?”

At my calm question, Iron Demon felt a chill.

The gaze of the Vice Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult—whom he had thought too soft until now—shone coldly, as if he truly might gouge out his eyes.

Only then did Iron Demon come to his senses. The actions I had shown before came back to him.

After all, a lion is still a lion, even when full.

“N-No. I, I must have lost my mind for a moment.”

<Their temperaments are no different from back-alley thugs. I’m not saying that’s their innate nature. It’s simply how they’ve lived all their lives. How do you intend to change habits ingrained into the body? Turn over a new leaf? Don’t expect too much.>

The Cult Leader’s words dug painfully into my chest from memory.

Even so, I extended my hand.

Iron Demon, sprawled on the ground, stared blankly at the hand I offered before taking it and rising.

“You still have a long way to go. Challenge me properly when the time comes. A steadfast martial artist like you should not behave like a rootless wastrel.”

At my words, a strange light flickered in Iron Demon’s eyes.

“Am I a steadfast martial artist?”

“Yes. That is how I see you. So do not fall to temptation.”

Leaving only those words behind, I turned and walked toward the Twin Might of the Moon Sword. Iron Demon lowered his head as he watched my retreating back.

Seeing that, Profound Demon’s lips finally curved into a smile.

Unaware—or perhaps unconcerned—about the two of them, I approached the Twin Might of the Moon Sword.

“You carry the sword of a dead man. Who are you? And who might he be?”

I asked while looking at the beloved sword of the Wave Sword Venerable hanging at his waist. The Twin Might of the Moon Sword bared his teeth.

“So it was you!”

“If you’re asking whether I was the one who cut down that sword’s owner—yes. I was.”

“You bastard!”

As he shouted angrily, I asked,

“Hm… you speak as if you would gladly die at the hands of someone who swung his blade intending to kill you. Is that truly so?”

In other words, the Wave Sword Venerable had struck first with lethal intent.

“If he did, then he must have had reason!”

“I see. So if someone swings a blade, there must be a reason—and that means the other party deserves to die.”

“Of course! The sword of the Hae-nam Sword Sect is such!”

Arrogance overflowed beyond mere pride in his voice. I smiled faintly.

“In the Bright Cult, we have a law called Might Makes Right. It means the one who wins takes all. In other words, the loser should keep his mouth shut. There is nothing more unsightly than a defeated man who talks too much.”

The Twin Might of the Moon Sword’s lips trembled as if to retort, but in the end, he said nothing.

For the one who had lost now was himself—and the one who had lost before was ultimately the Wave Sword Venerable.

When he fell silent, I asked,

“The Wave Sword Venerable was leading Living Zombies. Did the Hae-nam Sword Sect cooperate?”

“What nonsense! We don’t raise such things!”

“That is what you claim. What I and others saw was different. The Wave Sword Venerable appeared while driving Living Zombies.”

The cold gleam of my killing intent and the ability I had just displayed made him realize that I had no reason to lie.

“I-Is that… truly so?”

“I am far too busy to waste time on lies.”

“T-That’s impossible!”

“Whether it is possible or not, investigate it yourself. And….”

Trailing off, I glanced over the members of the Wave Sword Unit lying around, groaning.

“…if you clash blades with me again, you will die. I will not spare you a second time.”

As I turned at the end of those words, my eyes shimmered with dense killing intent.

To the point that the Twin Might of the Moon Sword—ranked among the Hundred Great Masters at the Super-Peak Realm—stumbled back with a gasp.

“Go. This is my final courtesy.”

At my words, the Twin Might of the Moon Sword hastily gathered his less-injured comrades and supported the groaning ones as they departed.

Immediately after they left, I too departed from the Yeonryuk Merchant Guild.

Naturally, Iron Demon and Profound Demon followed behind me.

Instead, the Heaven-Mixing Crushing Demon and the martial artists of the Crushing Faction remained, along with the Sacred Flame Banner.

They had decided to stay briefly in order to treat those injured in the recent battle against the Wave Sword Unit.

That did not mean they intended to remain indefinitely. As planned, the Crushing Faction martial artists would proceed to Shanxi for training.

For the time being, the Sacred Flame Banner would be entrusted to the Yeonryuk Merchant Guild.

After completing their training, the Crushing Faction would retrieve it on their return journey.

They had deliberately chosen such a complicated procedure. Rather than station martial artists there permanently, they would leave behind a sacred relic of the Bright Cult to protect the Yeonryuk Merchant Guild.

After all, no Orthodox Martial Sect would dare damage or insult a sacred relic of the Bright Cult without fearing the retaliation that would follow.

That was why I did not retrieve the Sacred Flame Banner before leaving, and why the Crushing Faction decided to entrust it to the Yeonryuk Merchant Guild.