So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Il-mok continued his long-winded lecture on his "borrow-to-win" philosophy.

"Moreover, if more people read our leaflets and join our ranks, allowing us to conquer new territories, we only need to plunder the local magistrates and rich tycoons there to hand it all out to the common folks."

The reason Il-mok proposes this isn’t because he was born with the heart of a reckless gambler. Rather, it was because those who started wars operated according to this very same mode of thinking.

Because of this, Il-mok finally understood why so many leaders chose this high-stakes gamble when pushing for war.

'If we lose, it's all over anyway, so who cares?'

Think of it like a terminally ill patient who has only a month left to live and desperately needs ten billion won for a cure.

Working an honest job to save up ten billion in a month is literally impossible, and doing nothing means they'd end up crossing the river to the afterlife in thirty days regardless.

Since that’s the case, why not take out every loan you can get your hands on and gamble it all to multiply your cash?

If you hit the jackpot, you pay off the debt and get cured; if you bust and go bankrupt, it doesn't matter because you were going to die soon anyway.

'Hah. Those damn Imperial bastards.'

Il-mok swallowed his curses inwardly.

By nature, he was a man who preferred to play it safe, and this kind of operation wasn’t to his taste.

Too bad the world had forced his hand to do this.

***

After giving his orders to the Baek father and son duo, Il-mok stayed back at the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult branch and devoted himself to practicing the White Hand Demonic Art and the Raging Demon Sword Art. And only when the sun had set and night had fallen did Il-mok set out from the branch.

"Young Master, where are you heading?"

"We've got a lot of expenses piling up, so I'm planning to go make us some money."

"???"

The maids accompanying him exchanged confused looks at his response.

And once they finally reached their destination, the question marks hovering over their heads only grew larger since the place Il-mok had brought them to was none other than the Left Commissioner's private estate.

Using a stealth technique, Il-mok and his maids slipped past the outer walls and into the estate without breaking a sweat.

When he reached the Left Commissioner's chamber, Il-mok swiftly tapped the guards' acupoints to knock them out.

"Left Commissioner, I'm sorry for barging in so late at night, but I dropped by because we need to have a little chat."

There were a couple of good reasons why he chose to talk instead of just slitting the Left Commissioner's throat.

First, he remembered how the man operated back when Il-mok was running around as the Maitreya Luminous Cult. Even though the Left Commissioner was a high-ranking bureaucrat, he was surprisingly someone you could actually negotiate with.

The only difference this time was that Il-mok didn't need to bow his head or act subservient in the slightest.

The second reason was simple pragmatism.

If someone could be recruited, it was worth trying to bring them into the fold rather than killing them outright.

Anyone who climbed high enough to become a Left Commissioner was bound to be a genius at handling administrative red tape.

The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and its allied factions were currently overflowing with experts in military operations and combat. But when it came to people who actually knew how to push papers and manage a territory, they had zero talent.

"A guest from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult?"

Proving he wasn't a high-ranking official for nothing, a sharp reply came from the other side of the door.

"That is correct."

"Come inside first."

When Il-mok stepped into the room at the invitation, a very complicated look flashed across the Left Commissioner's face.

'They sent someone this young?'

For a brief moment, he felt insulted, thinking the Cult was looking down on him, but Il-mok's next words quickly smoothed out his ruffled pride.

"I am Il-mok, the youngest disciple of the late Heavenly Demon and the youngest brother of the current Cult Leader.”

When Il-mok offered his respects with a light salute, the Left Commissioner nodded.

"I am the Left Commissioner, Cheon Ryang."

Completely unaware that he had actually met Il-mok in the past, the Left Commissioner briefly introduced himself.

"So, for what reason have you come to see me?"

"I have come in the hope that you'd join forces with us."

The Left Commissioner briefly squeezed his eyes shut at that invitation and then opened them again.

'So it's really come to this.'

The rumor that the Maitreya Luminous Cult was just a front for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had already swept across all of Gansu Province.

Obviously, the Left Commissioner had caught wind of it too.

It had not ended with just rumors. The Provincial Military Commander overseeing all the troops of Gansu Province was deliberating whether to mobilize the army or not.

The only reason he was holding off was because the Imperial Family hadn't officially given the green light yet.

And another reason was all thanks to the unwritten rule of the non-interference pact between the government and the martial world, a tradition that had held strong for almost a century.

But right in the middle of this standoff, news broke out that the so-called righteous heroes of the Orthodox Faction had gotten completely wiped out in their campaign to purge the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

And now, with the Demonic Cult sitting in his room asking him to join hands, it was obvious they were gearing up to launch a massive rebellion.

'If only I had not been deceived by that bastard who called himself the Incarnation of Maitreya!’

Never in a million years did the possibility of the young man before him being the very Incarnation of Maitreya that he cursed in his many nights.

Cheon Ryang swallowed his curses and forced himself to think.

Obviously, the Left Commissioner had no desire whatsoever to involve himself in any rebellion.

Yet, the main reason he hadn't immediately screamed for help when a Demonic Cultist broke in was because of his own dirty laundry.

Thanks to his greed for merit, he had actively shielded the Maitreya Luminous Cult and even championed them.

As if that were not enough, now that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was openly plotting rebellion, he had effectively become someone who had aided traitors.

Thanks to that mess, the Surveillance Commissioner in charge of throwing people in prison was already eyeing him like a juicy piece of meat; that bastard only holds himself back because of the lack of the Imperial Decree to officially arrest the Left Commissioner.

'Maybe I should just report this kid to the Surveillance Commissioner... No, that's practically suicide.'

Out of all the guards swarming his estate, not a single one had noticed this young man waltzing in. Even the elite bodyguards stationed right outside his bedroom door had been neutralized without making a peep.

This meant that the man could kill him at any moment, and that man had no reason whatsoever to fear the consequences.

After all, expecting a bunch of guys who had already decided to commit high treason to be scared of government badges was just a massive joke.

'I'm completely trapped.'

Turning down their offer meant immediate death, but accepting it meant he'd become a rebel.

Realizing just how screwed he was, Cheon Ryang quickly changed his train of thought.

'Should I prove that I am not a traitor even in death to protect my family, or should I join them in opening a new sky and seize an even higher position?'

Once his thoughts reached that conclusion, Cheon Ryang spoke up in a calm voice.

"Do you have a chance of winning?"

Right and wrong didn't matter to him anymore.

If there were a chance of winning, he would have to choose the latter; if it were a rebellion destined to fail, he would have to choose the former.

And the Left Commissioner knew exceedingly well what the greatest obstacle to their rebellion was.

"Do you really have the power to take down the Supreme Eunuch?"

Il-mok frowned at Cheon Ryang's unexpected question.

"The Supreme Eunuch? Who is that?"

Seeing the young man act completely clueless, Cheon Ryang fought the urge to sigh and answered him.

"The chief of all eunuchs. The monster feared by every eunuch and bureaucrat. An old eunuch who sits in a position above ten thousand and below only one."

Thanks to Cheon Ryang's explanation, Il-mok's instincts immediately pieced the puzzle together.

'I bet it was that Supreme Eunuch's master plan to force the Central Plains and our Cult to wipe each other out.'

Now aware of the mastermind pulling the strings from the shadows, Il-mok fired back with a question of his own.

"For us who've already decided to start a rebellion, that man's authority means nothing. And I'm pretty sure you know that too. Which means what you're really worried about is that old monster's martial arts."

When Cheon Ryang nodded, Il-mok thought about it for a second before throwing out an incredibly random suggestion.

"Showing it here would likely sweep up innocent people, so would you mind stepping outside with me for a bit?"

Cheon Ryang froze for a second, but quickly agreed to the request.

"Alright."

The thought that he might get dragged outside just to be quietly murdered definitely crossed his mind, but he knew worrying about it was pointless.

In the end, Cheon Ryang walked out of the building with Il-mok and had to hitch a ride on the back of the maid waiting at the door.

After traveling for about thirty minutes with their lightness skill deployed, they left Lanzhou and reached a remote place.

"Step way back and watch closely. Miss Jin, guard the Left Commissioner just in case."

Jin Hayeon nodded at Il-mok's orders and led Cheon Ryang and the other maids far away from the center.

Once everyone was safely out of range, Il-mok finally began to channel the separate energies stored in his three dantians.

As he stood behind Jin Hayeon, Cheon Ryang stared at Il-mok with confusion on his face.

'I have no idea what on earth he is doing.'

It was pitch black outside, and since they had backed up over a hundred meters, all he could see was a blurry outline of the guy.

Just then, bright red and pale blue energies started glowing around the man's hands.

'Hmm?'

Soon after, those two energies entwined together to form a peculiar sphere bearing the pattern of Taiji.

Gulp.

He clearly heard the woman shielding him and the woman with the giant bow behind him swallow hard.

Cheon Ryang sneaked a glance at them and saw that both women were staring at the man with tension.

"???"

While the question marks hovering over Cheon Ryang's head multiplied, the young man casually thrust his hand out.

The glowing orb instantly lifted off the ground and drifted forward.

For a moment, the sphere of Qi floated quietly in the air.

But the second it traveled about sixty meters away—

Bzzzt!

An ominous noise like a flock of birds taking flight rang out for an instant and the entire world was engulfed in light.

"!?"

He instinctively whipped his head around because his retinas felt like they were on fire, and a split second later, a massive shockwave slammed into his eardrums.

KABOOM!!!!

The explosion was so loud that his ears instantly started ringing with a high-pitched whine.

Cheon Ryang, who had turned his head and covered his ears, only belatedly looked at the front again after the light had vanished.

"..."

When he did, he looked like his soul had just left his body.

Beneath the soft moonlight, the sight of all heaven and earth in scorched ruin filled his eyes.

He was so shell-shocked that he was completely oblivious to what was happening right next to him.

He didn't notice that the red-haired girl and the girl with the short spear were staring slack-jawed with the same expression as his own.

Hyeokryeon Seon-ah and Ju Seo-yeon had never actually seen Il-mok use the World-Destroying Primordial Jade Palm before either.

So that was their first time seeing that martial art.

While Cheon Ryang and the women stood entirely dumbfounded, the guy who just dropped a literal nuke casually strolled back over to them.

"How was it? Do you think this is enough firepower to handle the one called the Supreme Eunuch?"

Because his eardrums were still recovering, Il-mok's voice sounded like it was coming from the end of a long tunnel.

To Cheon Ryang, that distant voice felt like an actual god speaking down to him from the heavens.

Still half-unconscious from shock, Cheon Ryang found himself nodding his head vigorously without realizing it.

But as Il-mok watched the Left Commissioner nod like a man possessed, he suddenly frowned.

'I-is he angered because I tried to test him?'

Cheon Ryang was terrified of that possibility, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

—Kill that insolent fool who dares to doubt you! He's definitely looking down on you!

—Bah. We have no need of that aged man. As that fellow says, kill him at once!

—Hahaha! Let the rage consume you!

—Yeah, don't hold back! Those girls behind you are totally swooning, so now's your chance to make a move!

—Use your upper head more, you dickhead! Don’t just use your lower head!

The truth was, Il-mok was just frowning because his damn Demonic Arts side effects were acting up.

He was just trying really hard to ignore the peanut gallery arguing inside his brain.

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