Chapter 188 : Faith and Righteousness
Chapter 188: Faith and Righteousness
7 days.
It had been the time that passed after the heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects returned.
Yet, from nowhere did any messenger seeking aid come running to the Bright Cult.
While waiting through that nerve-drying stretch of time, Yul Han had asked the Cult Leader only one thing.
<Senior Brother, how did you know that the infiltration of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens would be this deep?>
At Yul Han’s question, the Cult Leader answered calmly.
<If they didn’t have that level of confidence, there would have been no reason for them to send me a Space-Time Transmission right before White Tiger Village.>
That was right.
The reason the Cult Leader had grown furious right before White Tiger Village lay precisely in that.
Among the people of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens, someone had conveyed—through the peerless technique of Space-Time Transmission—that their influence had already taken deep root within the Eighteen Demon Sects.
While saying that, the Cult Leader admitted that he had honestly judged that a considerable number of the heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects would not respond to the Summoning Order.
Even so, the reason he had issued the Summoning Order was to receive help in determining where to begin.
He had intended to regard the places that did not come as having completely fallen and sweep them away first.
However, contrary to expectations, every single head responded to the summons, and in the end, he had decided to place his hopes on Yul Han’s trust.
Of course, it seemed that expectation had not been particularly high.
From the very moment the heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects departed, the Cult Leader had already issued orders to all Bright Cult martial artists to prepare for battle.
Following that command, starting from the Five Demons and up to the Ten Thousand Swords Unit, six major combat groups of the Bright Cult were fully mobilized.
Not only that, but one hundred and twenty thousand Bright Cult martial artists held their blades in silence, waiting for the order to be given.
The Bright Cult, which had only ever mobilized twenty to thirty thousand First Rate or higher experts even during the Great Ma Baek War, had now deployed every ounce of power it could muster.
Except for the Zhuge Clan incident, this was the first time such a thing had happened.
It was a moment that revealed, albeit in fragments, what kind of thoughts the Cult Leader harbored.
All the Bright Cult martial artists realized it.
Perhaps because of that, their fighting spirit was higher than ever before.
Amidst them, the Discipline Court cast sharp, vigilant gazes.
It was because the Cult Leader had judged that even after the bloody purge fifteen years ago, there could still be spies of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens hidden within the Bright Cult.
8 days.
Like the Cult Leader, who had been quietly waiting, Yul Han left his residence and headed for the Closed-Door Training Grounds.
Among the many Closed-Door Training Grounds lined up along the mid-slope of the Heavenly Mountains, Yul Han entered the largest one.
Though it had not been intentional, the moment he faced the Possessed Martial Artists, the Red Eyes that had risen flared blue.
At the sight of those Blue Eyes, the knees of the Possessed Martial Artists buckled helplessly.
“Master!”
With a resounding shout, the Possessed Martial Artists who had been training all prostrated themselves at once.
Though it had only been a little over half a month, their Ghostly Aura had grown fainter, and vitality had begun to leak out from them.
It was thanks to having trained deeply in the ultimate techniques of the Orthodox Faction.
After glancing over them, Yul Han spoke.
“There is something to be done. It may not be what you desire, but I would like your help.”
“If you command it, we will follow.”
The shout of Garuk, who was treated as the leader among the Possessed Martial Artists, was echoed by the rest.
“We will follow!”
“Thank you. If we finish this matter, I promise. If you swear not to harm the innocent, I will grant you freedom.”
The heads of Garuk and the Possessed Martial Artists snapped upward.
It was an astonishing statement.
“Y-You speak the truth?”
“The reason you obey me is because of the Ghost Eyes, so I swear upon those Ghost Eyes. I promise.”
Garuk, who had been staring at Yul Han with trembling eyes, slammed his head fiercely into the ground.
Thud!
“We will follow unto death.”
Striking one’s forehead hard against the ground signified the utmost reverence.
Garuk’s action meant agreement to the condition—and also a warning of the immense backlash that would follow should it be broken.
Understanding that meaning, Yul Han nodded.
At that, all the other Possessed Martial Artists also slammed their foreheads to the ground.
Thud!
“Unto death!”
After the resounding shout ended, twelve Possessed Martial Artists with resolute expressions followed behind Yul Han as he left the Closed-Door Training Grounds.
Yul Han had begun preparing for battle against the Eighteen Demon Sects that had changed their allegiance.
Within the Eighteen Demon Sects, where the heads had returned, chaos erupted.
Sect after sect engaged in fierce debates over the Cult Leader’s conditions.
Unexpectedly, among the experts under each sect, there were many who argued that this was the chance to break free from the shadow of the Bright Cult.
It became a turning point for most of the heads to recognize the severity of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens’ infiltration into their sects.
The problem was that this awareness was not properly reflected in action.
Almost all leaders of the major military forces were siding with opinions different from those of their sect heads.
In other words, the primary combat forces of the Eighteen Demon Sects had already fallen into the hands of those influenced by the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens—or their sympathizers.
The place where internal conflict was most severe was the Fierce Camel Alliance.
Since it had originally been an alliance of horse bandits, the scale and depth of internal strife were far worse than in the other sects.
There was no need to look far. Even the Mighty Fire Unit under Gwang Woong was no longer moving according to his will.
Subordinates calling for independence said:
Let the Eighteen Demon Sects unite their strength this time. The Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens would even provide experts—so why not take the gamble?
Amidst such heated arguments, the one who came to see Gwang Woong was an unexpected figure.
“Y-You are!”
“I am one whom fellow practitioners of the Demonic Path once called Corpse Demon. I was with the Fire Ghost Unit, and upon hearing that the Alliance Leader required certainty, I came running.”
The Fire Ghost Unit, along with the annihilated Assassination Guest House and White Tiger Village, were known as the Five Regions of Xinjiang.
To say he had been there meant the Fire Ghost Unit had already decided to cooperate with the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens.
Realizing this, the Alliance Leader’s worries deepened.
Corpse Demon had already been in the Profound Realm eighty years ago.
He was the only one not from the Five Demons to rise to Chief Elder and was treated on equal footing with the Cult Leader of his time.
Even now, his story of refusing the position of Vice Cult Leader—declaring he would remain an elder until the end—was passed down as legend.
Furthermore, he had been the only master of the Demonic Path who opposed the Great Ma Baek War until the very end and chose seclusion.
Some even said that the previous Cult Leader had pushed forward the war precisely because he trusted him.
And now such a man had appeared as a member of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens—how could Gwang Woong not waver?
As if telling him not to hesitate, Corpse Demon spoke.
“I have heard that the Dark War Emperor is also staying in Cheonghajin.”
“D-Dark War Emperor… you mean the one from the previous generation…!”
“Indeed. One of the Four Calamity Emperors of that era. The entire unorthodox world once buzzed that a prodigy had appeared.”
In three thousand years of unorthodox history, aside from the Bright Cult, the only one to reach the Profound Realm was the Dark War Emperor.
With his overwhelming power, he had revived the declining unorthodox factions.
As his title suggested, he specialized in night battles—combat in darkness.
Moreover, he was a master of chaotic melee combat, whose strength was maximized not in one-on-one fights, but in battles against many.
The legend remained of how he alone blocked eighty thousand government troops and annihilated them over fifteen days.
He too had vanished without a trace.
And there were many like him in the martial world—figures who rose to fame only to disappear suddenly.
‘What if all of them… are part of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens?’
Just as Gwang Woong thought his own idea too far-fetched, his eyes widened.
He recognized the person slowly stepping in behind Corpse Demon.
“T-The Blade Emperor!”
It was the former Clan Head of the Peng Clan of Hebei.
When he existed, the Peng Clan had stood at the head of the Six Great Clans and at the core of the Martial Alliance.
There was nowhere that could ignore the Number One of the Hundred Paths of that era.
And it was only after he vanished that First-Flowing Sword had risen to prominence as if waiting.
Connecting all these dots—
“They’re all… people of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens!”
At Gwang Woong’s shock, Corpse Demon smiled faintly.
“Surely this should help Alliance Leader Gwang make his decision.”
Just among those present, there were already three Profound Realm masters.
And there was no telling how many more experts the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens would produce.
‘If our numbers are added to theirs…?’
For the first time, Gwang Woong began to think that independence from the Bright Cult might not be a mere dream.
The same conflict he faced was shared by all the heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects.
By nature, martial artists disliked being beneath someone else—so how could serving the Bright Cult as their overlord have ever been pleasant?
The idea of breaking free from that restraint—how could it not be tempting?
Moreover, the people of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens claimed, unlike the Cult Leader’s warning, that they imposed no conditions on their aid.
They said they sought nothing from the Eighteen Demon Sects.
Only that the overly powerful Bright Cult be brought down to restore balance with the Orthodox Faction and bring peace to the world.
Many were swayed by those words.
In fact, more heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects were persuaded by those words than by the secret manuals or elixirs provided.
Thus, the Ghost Lotus Sect Master was caught in the same dilemma.
The General Manager asked him in confusion.
“Is this even something to worry over?”
At that question, the Sect Master replied.
“Then you mean there’s no need to worry?”
“Of course not. In all my life, I have never seen such a person. Gentle, yet ruthless. When he is an ally, he can be endlessly gentle—but once he judges someone an enemy, he leaves none alive.”
“…You are speaking of the Vice Cult Leader?”
“Of course. Then who else should we consider in this situation?”
At that, the Sect Master found himself momentarily speechless.
After steadying his troubled mind, he asked.
“Then what of the Assembly of the Beyond-Heavens’ proposal?”
“The name itself is already wrong. ‘Beyond the Heavens’? It means they intend to rule as the heavens themselves. They may lure us now with sweet words, but who knows when they’ll bring hail, thunder, and lightning?”
“So in the end, whether it’s this sky or that sky, we still live beneath one.”
“Exactly. If we must live under a sky anyway, there’s no reason to be called traitors. And one more thing—when we were starving, the only one who gave us rice was the Vice Cult Leader. Even a dog doesn’t bite the one who feeds it…”
Realizing he had spoken too harshly, the General Manager trailed off, but his meaning was clear.
Though they differed on other matters, there was one thing he shared with the Sect Master.
“Yes. When my child was starving, he was the only one who shared food.”
“That’s it. We may be of the Demonic Path, but we’re still human. Wasn’t that our hidden, true sect rule—to never forget that?”
The conviction in the General Manager’s voice was firmer than any certainty.
To see such a man—who had always been the quickest to follow trends and sometimes advocated the vilest acts—show this side of himself felt… right.
It confirmed that he too was a man of the Ghost Lotus Sect who valued faith and righteousness.
Recalling how he had trusted and kept him close despite countless impeachments in the past, the Sect Master smiled faintly and nodded.
10 days.
It had been ten days since the heads of the Eighteen Demon Sects returned.
And on that day, the first sect seeking aid appeared.
“Where did you say?”
At Yul Han’s question, the one who had come to ask for help answered.