Chapter 1819 – 1819. The Ascent To The Light
People gathered in a spacious room within the Yoon family estate.
Representatives from the five families of the Ma clan, excluding the Chun family, were all present. They waited for Baekran, who sat at the head of the table, to speak. Their inner thoughts were a mix of impatience and anxiety, but none dared to step forward and take the lead.
“……”
Baekran remained silent. The representatives exchanged glances.
Their opponent was a woman. They didn’t know her real age, but she was alone. Her power was estimated to be at the upper level of the Fifth Realm. Everyone gathered here was a powerhouse of the Fifth Realm. If they all joined forces, they could kill that woman.
Baekran closed her eyes, as if deep in thought, and touched her forehead.
It was an opportunity. The representatives moved their lips, sending telepathic messages to each other.
-Should we kill her here? Even if she’s a First-Class Imperial Guard, if the body disappears, even the Imperial Family won’t notice.
-Are you out of your mind? What kind of idiot would do something like that alone without any preparation? She must have prepared something.
-What if the Emperor hears that we killed a First-Class Imperial Guard? Do you think we can get away with it? The Emperor himself will move! It won’t end with just our families being destroyed!
-The moment the Emperor decides, we’re finished! The Emperor is not human!
-Damn it. Then what are we supposed to do?
-We must respond calmly in times like these. What is the purpose of that woman gathering us all here?
-What is she trying to get by pressuring us?
-How about asking the Divine Sect for help?
-Don’t you know why the Sect Leader is holed up? It happened after he met with the Emperor! The Heavenly Demon has submitted to the Emperor!
-The Divine Sect must already know. How could they not know when all of us have moved? This is the Divine Sect’s territory.
-Then why aren’t they helping us?
-Because they’re afraid. No matter how powerful the Divine Sect is, they’re just a sandcastle in front of the Emperor. We’re just grains of sand. We must never turn the Emperor into our enemy.
“His Majesty the Emperor is merciful. He did not lash out even when some ruffian pointed a sword at you in the past, nor when some foolish old man insulted you.”
Baekran opened her mouth. The Ma clan representatives, who had been exchanging messages busily, focused on her words. They had all heard what Baekran had said at some point. The current strongest person in the world, the Emperor, did not use his immense power recklessly.
“However, there are beings that His Majesty the Emperor will never tolerate. Those who twist the natural order, those who desire a new sky to open, the Underworld beings.”
There was no one here who didn’t know what Underworld beings were. When one gained a certain level of power, there were things one naturally came to know, and that was information about beings from beyond this world. Of course, they didn’t know the details. One thing was certain: they were beings that were of no benefit to this world.
“Our main duty as First-Class Imperial Guards is to investigate and deal with such beings. I was investigating the Reverse Demon Divine Art. That led me to the Yoo Woon Trading Company, and I learned that the owner of the Yoo Woon Trading Company was offering sacrifices to Underworld beings to obtain elixirs and magical artifacts.”
“That was something the Yoon family did on their own!”
“The investigation is already over. Didn’t you receive elixirs from the Yoon family?”
“It was a legitimate transaction! We didn’t know that the Yoon family was dealing with the Yoo Woon Trading Company!”
“The previous destination of the Yoo Woon Trading Company was Jae Yeom City, where the Jin family was located.”
The head of the Jin family flinched. He tried to make an excuse but quickly shut his mouth when he saw Baekran’s clear eyes.
Baekran picked up a brush from the desk. She moved the brush on the blank white paper. Their eyes were drawn to Baekran’s brush. It was as elegant and graceful as a crane. Then their gaze moved further down. The moment they saw the ink on the white paper, their faces turned pale.
(To His Majesty the Emperor. It has been confirmed that the five families, including the Yoon family, have joined hands with the Yoo Woon Trading Company, a minion of the Underworld. The evil Reverse Demon Divine Art that turns humans into monsters is the Small Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Sect.)
“Wait! Wait! Please wait a moment!”
The five representatives were terrified. The brush that had been moving gracefully stopped. Baekran looked at them.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
“There’s a misunderstanding, Imperial Guard!”
One representative shouted. If that letter reached the Imperial Family, it was over. The other family representatives desperately defended themselves. They moved their mouths. Their excuses gradually turned into pleas. Baekran silently listened to them.
As they regained their senses, they noticed the content of the letter. The Small Heavenly Demon was mentioned out of nowhere.
‘Small Heavenly Demon? Why the Small Heavenly Demon…?’
‘The name of Yoo Woon of the Yoo Woon Trading Company is the same as the Small Heavenly Demon’s name, but… can that be considered proof that it’s related to the Small Heavenly Demon?’
‘If the real purpose of that woman is the Small Heavenly Demon…?’
They were not stupid. Their minds worked quickly.
If the Small Heavenly Demon, Chun Yuwoon, died, would the Heavenly Demon Sect collapse? It wouldn’t. Rather, it could be an opportunity for the other five families.
‘If one masters the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, one can become the Small Heavenly Demon.’
‘The current Heavenly Demon is holed up… there’s no reason why a new Small Heavenly Demon can’t emerge from our family.’
‘Even if it’s not our family, as long as it’s not a direct descendant of the ungrateful Chun family….’
One of them mentioned the Small Heavenly Demon.
“Small Heavenly Demon! The Yoo Woon Trading Company is definitely related to the Small Heavenly Demon!”
“Oh. I only had suspicions… but why do you think so?”
Baekran, who had only been listening until now, reacted for the first time. The family representatives were convinced.
‘The real purpose was the Small Heavenly Demon!’
‘What did the Small Heavenly Demon do to turn a First-Class Imperial Guard into an enemy?’
‘I don’t know the details, but this is an opportunity.’
The representatives competed to criticize the Small Heavenly Demon and express their doubts. Baekran responded to them and naturally led them along, explaining the plan.
“There is someone who is suitable to be the Small Heavenly Demon. If you support him… he will be able to solidify his position as the Small Heavenly Demon. What do you think? He is a man of deep faith, so he will surely reward your support. And so will I.”
“We cannot leave the position of the Small Heavenly Demon vacant for long. We will support him.”
The representatives of the five families said with awkward smiles. They had been led around since the beginning of the meeting, and they had no choice.
• • •
Having secured the cooperation of the five families, Baekran leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
A distant memory surfaced.
A memory from before her regression.
Before her regression, she was not a First-Class Imperial Guard. She had not become the adopted child of a eunuch and entered the Imperial Palace.
She didn’t know her parents, but she remembered the master who had raised her. Her master was an assassin. On the surface, she was an ordinary old woman, but she was an assassin who had assassinated countless martial artists. The old woman had no alias. That was how thoroughly she hid herself. She was also an assassin who handled the dirty work of the Imperial Family.
‘Ran-ah. Live as you wish.’
That was what she had said when she became the adopted child of a eunuch. And it was the last will of her past life.
She had been killed by a martial artist from the Martial Alliance. It wasn’t that she had died during a mission. Before her regression, the old woman had retired, and she had unfortunately gotten involved with a drunken martial artist from the Martial Alliance. The cause was her beauty. After a series of twisted events, her master had been killed by the martial artist from the Martial Alliance.
To take revenge on the Martial Alliance, she had joined the Heavenly Demon Sect, the greatest enemy of the Martial Alliance. The skills she had learned from her master were helpful. She killed enemies as an assassin of the Heavenly Demon Sect. In her past life, she had been the dagger of the Small Heavenly Demon, Chun Yuwoon. That was why she could calculate Chun Yuwoon’s actions.
‘Chun Yuwoon will become the Heavenly Demon. Now, when he hasn’t solidified his position as the Small Heavenly Demon… is the best time to kill him.’
The Small Heavenly Demon, Chun Yuwoon, would become the Heavenly Demon decades later. Before her regression, she had been Chun Yuwoon’s loyal assassin, assassinating all sorts of enemies. Chun Yuwoon was generous to those who were loyal to him. Whether it was martial arts or elixirs, he provided solid support.
‘Then, by chance.’
It was truly by chance. Following Chun Yuwoon’s orders, she had entered the Heavenly Demon Mausoleum to kill his cousin.
‘I discovered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
She felt a strong connection to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Even while desperately pursuing martial arts as an assassin, she couldn’t resist the temptation and touched the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
And she mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Of course, she hid that fact from Chun Yuwoon.
‘I never thought there would be an ability to recognize someone who had mastered the same Heavenly Demon Divine Art.’
It was like a side effect of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Because of that, the moment she faced Chun Yuwoon, she was exposed for having mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Her relationship with Chun Yuwoon immediately broke down. She ran away. The assassin skills she had mastered were a great help.
Baekran stroked her left cheek. The scar she had received from Chun Yuwoon when she had run away. The cheek where the scar should have been was warm and soft.
‘All my subordinates died.’
And in the end, Baekran killed Chun Yuwoon and became the Heavenly Demon, ruling over the Heavenly Demon Sect.
‘I already killed you and took my revenge with my own hands before my regression. But I have no intention of letting you live, Chun Yuwoon.’
The grudge from before her regression still remained, and Chun Yuwoon was only a part of the revenge she had to take.
‘There are many people I have to kill.’
She would not bring in her subordinates from before her regression. This was entirely her own revenge. One of the reasons was that she didn’t trust them.
‘Yeom Guseok… no, his real name was Seong Yoojin, wasn’t it.’
A being that hadn’t existed before her regression.
A variable.
A martial artist who was born with the energy of a star, like the Emperor.
‘His growth rate is fast. Almost as fast as me, who has regressed. He has enough value to be used.’
She thought of her targets for revenge. She couldn’t face ordinary people. There were beings that were too much for her to handle alone. At least she needed a powerhouse at her level, a companion who could become as strong as her.
‘It doesn’t necessarily have to be a companion.’
She would use him, and he would use her. That was enough. So she would accumulate debts. He wanted to become the Heavenly Demon? She would let him become the Heavenly Demon. What she needed now was not an empty title.
She sighed. Hot breath went out, and cold air came in.
‘Only revenge.’
She repeated the resolve she had made when she had died before her regression.
