“Gasp… gasp… gasp…”

 

An hour ago, in an ice cave that was cold enough to see the misty breaths of air flow out of the entrance. The transparent and beautiful ice that covered all of the inner cave like rare crystals broke and turned the once beautiful cave into a mess of remnant ice shards.

 

Drip!

 

Looking at the floor of the cave, where ice was dripping down from, red blood stains spread across the floor.

It wasn’t clear how hastily the bleeding man ran, but the thick fur coat he was wearing had turned blood red.

 

“Haa… haaa! Cough!”

 

The places where he was cut was becoming more painful with every step he took.

He wasn’t sure whether or not he could get out of this place quick enough to treat his wound, but all he knew was that the cold weather seemed to tear apart his wounds even further.

 

‘I need to hurry up… and inform them.’

 

At this point, the man was barely standing up and was only able to walk by slowly limping, that was when something strange happened.

 

Rumble!

 

The entire cave vibrated.

As the cave shook as if there had been an earthquake, the ice shattered and vapor began to fill up his vision.

 

“No- No way!”

 

His heart began to beat rapidly at the ominous sign.

He was under the impression that he managed to save his life, but was ‘it’ trying to break through the thick ice of the cave?

Scared, he hurried to get out of the cave.

That moment,

 

Bang! Bang! Bang!

 

“Grrrrrr!”

 

The solid ice wall shattered and a black monster roared.

The appearance was faint because of the rising vapor, but the injured man’s face turned pale at the sight.

 

‘It- it broke through the ice wall?’

 

Shocked, he covered his mouth.

 

“Uhmp!”

 

The moment he covered his mouth and tried to breathe as silently as possible to not notify the monster, the yellow glowing eyes of the monster that noticed him twisted and strichten like a snake, revealing the vicious teeth it was hiding.

 

“Kyaaaal!”

 

“Arckkkkk!”

 

Puhk!

 

The man screamed, struggling to get away from the monster.

As the man ran away, his coats and fur were thrown off and sunlight shone through the gaps of the cave.

It looked like a bright day.

 

“Gasp… Gasp…”

 

His face was breaking out in cold sweat and he was shocked.

Not so long ago, the monster had attacked him in an underground ice cave. And as if it was a nightmare, it appeared in another cave!

 

‘Again… it‘s going to happen again!’

 

The young man, whose face was full of scars, wiped off the cold sweat with the back of his hand.

 

Crackle!

 

When he turned his head to the sound which was next to him after a couple of blinks, a middle-aged man in a white fur coat was putting in dry branches to light the bonfire.

The middle-aged man looked at the young man with worried eyes and asked.

 

“Did you have that dream again?”

 

“Uncle!”

 

“It seems to be stuck in your memory. After all, you are the only one who lived after crossing paths with that monster. Phew… ah, hot!”

 

The middle-aged man took off his fur coat.

He seemed to be so hot that the clothes he was wearing inside were wet with sweat.

 

“It has been a while since I came here, but it really is hot. I have no idea how the people of Jugwon can live in such hot places.”

 

The weather is neither hot nor cold.

However, to a middle-aged man who came down from the north the weather of Jungwon felt hot.

The young man, whose face was full of scars, thought that the weather was too hot, which was why he wore a long robe of light material instead of fur coats like he used to in his homeland.

After waking up from that nightmare, his trembling finally stopped as if he managed to escape his fear of that monster.

Seeing that, the middle-aged man spoke.

 

“You came down here basically without sleep for the past three days, go and get some more rest.”

 

“No, uncle. We don’t know when that monster will break through the ice again, how can I rest?”

 

“Stay put.”

 

In total, the young man only slept four hours a day since he came down from the northern part of Hanam.

His eyes were proof of that.

He wouldn’t have been able to hold on in that place if it wasn’t for the luck he had on his side.

That was when the middle-aged man spoke.

 

“We’ll soon have to move. I’ll head over to Yulin straight away. Are you sure you want to go there?”

 

“… yes.”

 

“You are quite stubborn when compared to your brother. Do you really think that they will help? Among the Wulins, they are the only ones who see harmony as we do.”

 

“Isn’t it better than staying still and not doing anything?”

 

“The things that pursue the nature of Demons will follow you.”

 

The middle-aged man was still taken aback by the young man’s stubborn nature.

Still, he felt like asking the Yulin for help and guidance was a lot better. He couldn’t understand why the young man was so against the idea of heading to Yulin.

 

‘Those people are wicked ones, but he doesn’t know that.’

 

He was sure that the people who pursued the path of demons would never help others who were in a crisis.

Looking at the eyes of his uncle, who seemed to be filled with disbelief, the young man, whose face was full of scars, grabbed onto a hidden object.

It was something which was handed to him by a man who saved him from death.

His uncle wouldn’t believe it, so he couldn’t show him that hidden object. He wasn’t sure if help could be gotten from Yulin.

 

[Please tell me.]

 

If ‘that person’ really was the owner of this thing.

The opening of the Demonic Cult’s branch in Gaekzan.

People were sitting at the table under the canopy which was used as a shade from the bright sunlight, sipping light drinks and eating duck meat noodles.

There were a lot of people who were passing by the street, but not a single person approached that place.

It was because of those people who were eating under the canopy.

They were all wearing red robes with the word ‘Demon’ written on them and anyone could tell that they were people of the Demonic Cult.

It has been a month since the opening of the Demonic Cult’s new branch, but people were still afraid of them because of the preconceived notions.

It was a natural reaction since it had been under the domain of Yulin for several years.

 

“Ugh, they can just come and eat. I don’t understand what they are trying to avoid?”

 

A young man in a purple hood lightly shook the glass of wine. It was Hu Bong.

As he grumbled, people would get close, but when they would see the members of the cult looking at them, they would run away in fear.

 

Tak!

 

‘Is he asking because he really doesn’t know?’

 

The waiter put the additional ordered food on the table while cursing the members of the cult inwardly.

It was lunchtime, but the food house, which was normally filled with customers and overflowing orders, was completely barren.

 

‘If you are so concerned about the reason, find some other place to eat!’

 

He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud, so he just put down the food and quietly went in.

Ko Wanghur, the muscular young man, spoke to Hu Bong, who was shoving a piece of sushi into his mouth.

 

“It will take some time for them to get used to it. Still, this is a lot better than at the beginning, isn’t it?”

 

When the branch was first opened, the people would avoid the members of the cult. They would even refuse to meet their eyes as if they were seeing a ghost or a monster.

However, after a month, their actions seemed to have eased down.

 

“It is, but… tch, I still think that it’s a long way off from what it is supposed to be.”

 

It didn’t seem right.

 

“Hahaha, Hu Bong, you are being too greedy. How is it possible to change the perception about us, which had been built over hundreds of years, in a mere 30 days?”

 

Tap! Tap!

 

Sama Chak, who was sitting on the opposite side of Hu Bong, tried to explain it.

As he said, it was indeed difficult to change the perception of people who were constantly being fed with wrong information.

Therefore, the people belonging to the Demonic Cult’s branch were working hard in many ways to change the perception.

 

“Besides, thanks to the reputation of our Lord, there are 100 new members in this month only. Wasn’t that enough publicity already? Don’t worry too much.”

 

“Those were all martial arts students.”

 

Those newly admitted to the academy weren’t ordinary people.

They were all wandering martial arts rogues who applied for admission into the Demonic Academy after hearing about Chun Yeowun’s rise to the Divine Master level and the battle in Jin Castle.

Chun Yeowun’s face as one of the five strongest warriors skyrocketed in the entire Wulin.

As rumors spread about the change in the state religion and humiliation endured by the Yulin in the Jin Castle, the words that the Demonic Cult’s Lord might end up conquering the entire Wulin spread, which made independent and non-famed martial arts people who didn’t belong to any clan began to show up.

 

“It‘s just the beginning. This is proof that many people want to join the academy of our Lord, who‘s considered to be the youngest one of the top five strongest warriors.”

 

“I am actually a little dissatisfied with that.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Everyone was shocked at what Hu Bong said. This man was supposed to be Chun Yeowun’s fan.

Grumbling, Hu Bong continued.

 

“I don’t get it. At this point, shouldn’t the Lord be called the strongest in Wulin and not one of the five strongest warriors? Even the Great Leader of the Forces of Justice is no match and our Lord could deal with three Supreme Masters at the same time. Everyone witnessed that.”

 

“Hm, that is true.”

 

Even Ko Wanghur agreed with Hu Bong’s words.

Chun Yeowun showed such great power and he was still ‘only’ being called one of the five strongest warriors of Wulin, even though his powers far exceed that threshold.

He even took down the Forces of Evil and the divided Yulin in the Jin Castle all by himself.

At that time, Hou Sanghwa, who was quietly having her noodles, opened her mouth and spoke.

 

“Maybe it’s because of that monster of the east.”

 

“Monster of the east?”

 

While Hu Bong was puzzled, Sama Chak, who was next to him, clapped his hands.

 

“Ah! Are you talking about the East Challenger God?”

 

Ark Wui.

One of the five strongest warriors.

He was called the East Challenger God. Among the five, he was known for not using any weapons but still reaching the top ranks with just his fists.

Chun Yeowun also had the character of ‘God’ attached to his title, but Ark Wui was the only one before Chun Yeowun to hold the character of God in his title.

 

“Ah, but does it even make sense to compare our Lord, who publicly displayed his power, to someone who is only rumored to be strong?”

 

At Hu Bong’s words, Ko Wanghur, who had been smiling, snorted and spoke.

 

“No, Hu Bong! Aren’t you just dismissing what our Sanghwa said?”

 

“Our Sanghwa? Woa! It’s starting again.”

 

“Pfffttt!”

 

Spit!

 

At those words, Ho Sanghwa ended up spilling the noodles in her mouth as her face turned red.

Thanks to that, Sama Chak’s face was wrapped up in noodles, who sat opposite to Sanghwa.

 

‘Ah… I think I’ve been through this before.’

 

Was it a déjà-vu or a jamais-vu?

Ko Wanghur and Sanghwa started dating a while back.

As if two bears were getting along with each other, the two of them were taller than other people and got along well. It almost felt like they were born into that relationship.

Which only made someone’s stomach churn.

 

“Huh, is he trying to make others who are single feel miserable?”

 

“Khuem!”

 

“I was holding back myself from talking about it. When you two are the only ones who go ahead and do that, my delicate heart will break. And…”

 

‘… it’s starting again.’

 

Tch!

 

At the start of Hu Bong’s non-stop rapping, Ho Sanghwa looked at Ko Wangur who was seated next to her.

She told him to not call her ‘Our Sanghwa’ in front of others, but now that he did it, they would have to listen to Hu Bong’s complaints throughout their meal.

In that noisy mumbling, Hu Bong suddenly stopped speaking.

 

“Huh?”

 

They looked at the place where his gaze lingered; a young man with a long robe and a face full of scars was approaching them.

 

‘Martial arts user?’

 

At first glance, they recognized that the young man with scars was trained in martial arts.

He was at the Super Master level.

They thought that he would be wary of approaching them, but the man who approached their table did something unexpected.

 

Thud!

 

He knelt on the ground.

 

“I… I am greeting the people of the Sky Demon Order.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Everyone looked puzzled at the sound of the young man who suddenly knelt down.

Ko Wanghur stood up from his seat and asked.

 

“Why did you suddenly get down on your knees?”

 

With an earnest voice, the young man answered.

 

“Let me see the Lord of the Demonic Cult!”

 

“?”

 

When he suddenly asked them to take him to the Lord of the Demonic Cult, even Ko Wanghur was at a loss for words.

Looking at the shabby demeanour, the young man seemed like a rogue and they thought that he wanted to join the academy.

Hu Bong got up and spoke.

 

“Ah! If you are going to enter the academy, you need to go into the alley across the street and inquire in the branch…”

 

At those words, the scar faced young man shook his head.

 

“I am sorry, but I didn’t come here for that. I came to see the Lord of the Demonic Cult and ask for his help.”

 

Hu Bong raised his eyebrows as he approached the young man and said.

 

“Hah, recklessly asking us to take you to the Lord of the Demonic Cult, you must be thinking that we’ll simply say ‘yes’ and guide you to our Lord right…”

 

The moment Hu Bong was about to finish, the scar faced young man pulled something out of his arm.

 

“!?”

 

A slate made of jade. The moment he saw that, he immediately knew what it was.

Hu Bong’s eyes widened at the sight.

 

“Hu Bong, what is it… ah!”

 

Wondering what Hu Bong was seeing, Ko Wangur leaned his head close to Hu Bong, who was shocked.

The jade slate was engraved with characters and a seal.

South Demon Lord, Chun Inji.

The jade slate was none other than that of Chun Inji, the former Lord, who had disappeared a long time ago.