“Hmm. Four against four.”

Joo Moon-baek was talking with his subordinates and tapping his chin in thought. 

The group knew exactly what he meant.

The Cult was divided into two factions, the Vice Leader’s and the Young Leader’s.  

The number of Ten Demonic Masters in the Vice Leader’s faction, excluding Joo Moon-baek himself, was four.

The number of Ten Demonic Masters in the Young Leader’s faction, including the Senior Strategist, was also four. 

Given that Woon-seong was not inferior to a Demonic Master, the numbers were virtually equal. 

Comparing the forces under the Ten Demonic Masters was also useless too, since those forces were also pretty much equal. 

“Most of the Twelve Supporting Units decided to be neutral. However, the White Ape Unit and the Charred Dragon Unit are naturally supporting the Young Leader, so it looks like we’re losing on that side…” 

Joo Moon-baek laughed to himself since there was nothing that he could do.  “Heh heh heh.”

How long had he prepared for this?

How many years had he waited patiently to become the leader?

How much effort had he put in to hide his ambition from the tyrant known as the Heavenly Demon? 

Yet, nothing had changed after the Heavenly Demon collapsed. 

No. The Strategist has been openly condemning me because I showed my ambition. 

What led to the current situation was indeed the influence of the Senior Strategist.

I should have made him part of my plan long ago… 

Knowing that would have been impossible, Joo Moon-baek shook his head. 

Sang Gwan-chuk is deeply loyal to the Leader. He’s not a man I can simply convince onto my side. 

Mo In-ryang suddenly spoke up. “Since we’re too late with the Wind Demon Fist King, how about we try to convince the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’?”

Joo Moon-baek tapped his finger, taking this suggestion into consideration. 

The ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’. 

As the eldest of the Ten Demonic Masters, he was still known to be healthy and strong despite being over 100 in age. Even though his age should have been a drawback, none of the Ten Demonic Masters could guarantee a sure victory against him. 

Even Joo Moon-baek, who was supposedly the most powerful out of the Ten Demonic Masters, was expected to barely achieve victory six out of ten times. 

Also, now that the Wind Demon Fist King had officially taken a side, the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon was the only member of the Ten Demonic Masters who still maintained a neutral stance. 

“Hmm… the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’…”

Importantly, he was also nicknamed the ‘Teacher of the Demonic Way’ and a popular figure amongst the believers of the Cult. Not only would the number of officials be tipped, the public would also back them up. 

If that was possible we would be able to topple this tight balance in an instant… The ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’… 

Joo Moon-baek looked at the corner of the room as he thought about this.

There stood an underling of his, ‘Shadow’.

The man, seeing that Joo Moon-baek was asking a silent question, shook his head. 

The Vice Leader sighed. “The ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’ will not move easily.”

“Not move easily? How can you be so sure?”

When asked the question by the crowd, Joo Moon-baek sat down and reclined in a chair. “I have a reliable source that can communicate with him. I have no way to convince him right now.”

The Vice Leader’s voice held great certainty, so the group could only quietly agree. 

But once again, Mo In-ryang asked the Vice Leader if he had abandoned his stubborness.

“Ugh. Is there really no way?”

In another place, Woon-seong and his supporters were having a similar conversation. 

The Senior Strategist said a decisive, “No.”

Woon-seong could only nod, “I see.”

It may seem that the two factions were equal in strength, but that also meant it would only take a slight shift in the balance to make a huge difference.

It was quite the dangerous situation.

And the best way to get out of this state was to bring in the only remaining neutral Demonic Master…

It may seem like we’re equal in strength, but it also means that it only takes a slight shift in the balance to make a huge difference in the current situation. And the best way to shift it to our favor… 

“It seems I have no choice but to make the Demonic Teacher one of ours.”

At the words of the Young Leader, it was Great Demon Sang In-hyo who nodded slowly. “He will not be easily convinced. That’s why you will have to go talk to him yourself.”

Woon-seong agreed. “Just like the Wind Demon Fist King.”

With that said, the Senior Strategist excused himself from the conversation. “I’ll be off for now then. Someone else will come to help you.”

To be honest, I was incredibly lucky to bring the Wind Demon Fist King to our side. Woon-seong realized that this whole “balanced” situation was only possible thanks to Sang Gwan-chuk. Not only did he immediately bring two of the Ten Demonic Masters to our side, as though he predicted the whole situation, but he also brought the Fist King’s gauntlets within a mere three months. This is only possible if he thought about bringing the Wind Demon Fist King to our side before this all began. 

“I assume that the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon will only be more difficult…”

When Woon-seong spoke his thoughts out, someone entered the room and spoke.

 “But in the end, we have to do it.”

The gazes of Woon-seong and Sang In-hyo were on the newcomer at the same time. 

“Fire Demon.”

It was Sang In-hyo who spoke, as the man at the door was known to him. 

The newcomer was the ‘Fire Demon of Scars’, Mok Dae-young. 

He was formerly the Cult’s Kashgar Branch Manager, but after the Heavenly Demon collapsed, Strategist Sang had brought him in for Woon-seong, who was in dire need of an information gathering expert. 

And just as Sang Gwan-chul had hoped, Mok Dae-young had been working well as Woon-seong’s source of information. [2] 

“Greetings, Young Leader.”

Woon-seong acknowledged the newcomer, who was late, with a nod. “Is there a way?”

Seeing as the man was late, the Senior Strategist must have given him some advice.

As Mok Dae-young walked inside, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “Even the Senior Strategist said it’s difficult to predict what he’s thinking.”

“It looks like I’ll have to meet him in person. Since Sang Gwan-chuk doesn’t have an answer, I’ll just have to face this matter straight on…”

Mok Dae-young and Sang In-hyo nodded. Even the Senior Strategist believed there was nothing else they could do.

In thought, Woon-seong played with the fabric of the White Night Spear, which was strapped to his back. 

It was then that Sang In-hyo said something with conviction:

“The only person who can convince the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’ is the Young Leader.”

Woon-seong nodded lightly. 

This was because the Young Leader had taken those as words said solely to cheer him up. 

But, he didn’t know…

When Sang In-hyo had said these seemingly optimistic words though, his gaze had been on Woon-seong’s spear…

Eventually, Woon-seong, who was now in front of the Sun and Moon Tower closed his eyes. He knew that if he walked inside he would find the ‘Demonic Teacher’.

By the way, I have no idea why the Vice Leader is being so open with his ambition. 

Standing there, Woon-seong’s thoughts were moving quickly. 

The position of ‘Heavenly Demon’. 

It’s obviously a position that every member of the Cult has dreamed of at least once in their life. If I was born a demonic practitioner, I probably would’ve aimed for it myself, even if it wasn’t for my revenge. 

At the same time, a position that everyone dreams about isn’t a position that anyone can achieve. Out of the numerous demonic practitioners, only a few with the right conditions can achieve it. 

The first condition was simply sufficient strength. With ‘survival of the strongest’ being the top virtue of the Cult, the weak obviously could never become the Heavenly Demon. 

Of course, the ‘Soul Splitting Flame King’ satisfies this condition. He may be younger than the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’, but his martial arts are known to be a level higher. 

The second condition was lineage. However, this problem could also be solved relatively easily. Simply being connected with the Chun Family through marriage was enough to maintain the legitimacy of bloodline. 

A-young will resist, but if you think about it, Joo Moon-baek is a man who can and will do anything he needs to. He wouldn’t hesitate to use some vile art to make A-young obey him if necessary. 

The real problem is the last condition…

The third and final condition was the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon. 

Unlike the other two, this was the most surefire way to gain legitimacy. 

However, the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon wasn’t something one learned after becoming the Heavenly Demon. 

It was learned by those who were destined to become the Heavenly Demon. 

Therefore anyone who wished to become the Heavenly Demon had to also be familiar with the Divine Art. 

But the fact that the Vice Leader showed his ambition… Does that mean he learned the Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon? This question only creates more questions. If he did learn, how? 

The Divine Art of the Heavenly Demon had no written formand was passed down person by person, from the Cult Leader to his apprentice. 

That was a fact Chun Hwi had personally confirmed. 

So how could Joo Moon-baek have possibly learnt it?

Woon-seong wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion as this question weighed on him. 

A cold breeze blew across the hill. As it passed through his sleeves, Woon-seong was woken up from his musings. 

I’ll worry about this later.

As usual, it was best to focus on what was before him. 

With his mind made up, Woon-seong observed the Sun and Moon Tower. Unlike the others, the Sun and Moon Tower had a quiet and calm atmosphere. It looks more like a storage tower than one owned by a Demonic Master. There were fields of grass and even some farming tools lying around. The equipment was still covered in soil, as if it had just been used yesterday. So it’s true that the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon enjoys farming… 

At that time, one of the people working there came out of the tower. The man hurried over to Woon-seong. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Woon-seong nodded towards this man. 

“But I’m sorry. There’s a guest who came before you, so you will have to wait for a while.”

A guest?

Woon-seong’s eyebrows twitched. 

I’m sure I sent a message that I’ll come visit him. Yet he still accepted a guest before me? According to what people say, the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon is not a man of disrespect or rudeness. 

The more the thought about the other’s temperament, the more ridiculous it was. 

If so… 

Woon-seong quickly came to a conclusion, which didn’t help his irritation. 

It’s either that the guest is such a big figure that even the ‘Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon’ couldn’t refuse, or the guest has visited him forcefully. Or maybe both. And there is only one person who would be either case. 

“Hmm.”

Woon-seong’s expression almost instantly crumpled. 

The subordinate waiting for him, who saw it, swallowed in fear. Did I upset him?! The young man standing in front of him was the Young Leader, with strength and status on par with the Ten Demonic Masters. If the Young Leader decided to pull out a knife and kill him anger, he would be able to do nothing at all. I’m so dead… 

Woon-seong, who had been scowling, finally spoke. “Still, lead me to him.”

“Y-yes sir! This way, please!” At that, the servant lowered his head while sighing in relief. I live to see another day…

As they walked, Woon-seong observed the inside of the tower. 

Just like the exterior, the interior of the tower is also different. There are no luxurious items at all. Most of them are made and repaired with planks and wooden nails. That actually gives me the shivers. Because in the worst case scenario, the blade used to carve those wooden pieces would be pointing at me. 

Suddenly, cold sweat built up on Woon-seong’s neck. He hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. 

If the Demonic Teacher of Sun and Moon became my enemy and I had to fight him to the death, my chances would be at best six to four.

Me being four and the ‘Demonic Teacher’ being six. 

Although I won’t know for sure until it happens. 

One thing for sure is that his martial arts skills are enough to make me shiver. 

Woon-seong ignored the uncomfortable sensation and continued to walk into the tower. 

The servant continued to politely show Woon-seong the way, afraid to make the other angry. “This way, please.”

This is a familiar presence. Familiar, yet unpleasant. 

It was a presence he’d become familiar with after the Heavenly Demon had collapsed. 

I made the right decision. I knew it. The man inside there is…

Before Woon-seong could do anything, people appeared in the corners of the corridor. They were all wearing uniforms of red and black. 

Woon-seong remembered what the Senior Strategist had told him: “Since you’ll constantly be clashing with the Vice Leader, I’ll take this time to tell you in advance about the most important core forces of the ‘Soul Splitting Flame King’. The ‘Flame King’ commands Seven Reapers, which are the seven men known as the ‘Soul Splitting Reapers’.”

Just as Woon-seong had recognized them, they also recognized him and blocked him from moving past the corridor. 

“You people seem to know who I am. And you still decide to get in my way?” Sounding enraged, Woon-seong unstrapped his spear and let out his qi presence. “You lowly servants dare to do that?! Come! I will make you pay for your sins on this very spot!!”

[1] As a reminder, Mok Dae-young and Sang In-hyo know each other because they both worked at the ‘Thousand Miles Communication Department’.