Chapter 333: Cheon Jumun (5)

Thirty-five years ago.

A spacious manor located on the outskirts of the Cheon Clan.

Normally, a manor of this size should have at least a few maids or attendants, yet strangely, not a single servant could be seen.

“Hmph, not bad.”

Somewhere within that manor, a young man with a neat impression adjusted his attire with care.

At first glance, his appearance was reminiscent of a scholar stepping into an official post.

From nearby, someone reeking of alcohol in broad daylight sneered at him.

“Oh, Juchun. Off to do that experiment or research or whatever again today?”

Unlike the tightly dressed young man, the other had his loose white robes falling off his shoulders.

“Well, yeah.”

“That’s gotta be rough. It’s not exactly a short distance to Iron Steed Prison Cave from here.”

Gulp, gulp!

The man who drank straight from the bottle asked Juchun again.

“So? How’s it going? It’s already been years, hasn’t it?”

Juchun shrugged at those words.

“Who knows? It’s so vast and undefined in scope… I might not even live long enough to see it completed.”

The young man, called Juchun, spoke to the drunken man.

“Jumyeong, don’t you think it’s about time you stopped wasting your life like this? With your brain, Father would surely welcome you with open arms.”

Jumyeong shook his head with a laugh.

“Keh keh! Not interested.”

“…What a shame.”

Juchun sighed in disappointment, to which Jumyeong clicked his tongue.

“Under that idiot Cult Leader, nothing you do will matter. Instead of aiming to grow stronger and become the Heavenly Demon, why’s the Cult Leader so obsessed with some forbidden arts?”

“……”

Juchun gave no response to that.

In fact, it was because the Cult Leader had become obsessed with forbidden arts that they, once marginalized within the Cheon Clan, had managed to regain some footing.

“Well, keep your head straight. You tend to lose yourself too much when you’re focused on something, completely flipping priorities.”

“…Shut up.”

Juchun pouted and stood up from his seat.

Humans had the habit of falling silent when struck by harsh truths.

As Juchun tried to leave, Jumyeong casually brought something up.

“By the way, I heard from the Clan Leader that the Cult Leader has recently brought in some weird folks from outside.”

Juchun flinched slightly at that.

That was supposed to be classified information, and this layabout already knew?

“…Yeah. He brought in all sorts of strange books that looked like forbidden tomes.”

Juchun deliberately left out the fact that those tomes were all made of human skin.

Jumyeong, narrowing his half-open eyes, stared at Juchun.

“You better be careful. With a Cult Leader like that, who doesn’t care about methods or means, it wouldn’t be surprising if he tried to bury everything the moment things go south.”

“Hah, what a load of nonsense. Worry about yourself. Cut down on the drinking.”

Juchun snorted and was about to step out when—

A man who had been silently swinging his sword nearby approached them.

“Heading out again today?”

“Well, yeah. And you, Jumun? Off to see the Young Cult Leader again?”

Jumun nodded quietly.

Seeing that, Juchun let out a small sigh.

“I don’t get it. What’s so great about that smooth-talker? Sure, their martial arts are exceptional, but they always felt like they’re missing a screw. Feels like they’ll cause some huge trouble one day.”

“Hey! You’re not one to talk!”

Jumyeong, having heard that from a distance, yelled back.

After silently staring at Juchun for a moment, Jumun finally muttered a word.

“…Be careful.”

“You too? Why are you brothers so full of worry?”

“……”

Juchun clicked his tongue in annoyance and walked past Jumun, disappearing outside.

After Juchun was gone, the two remaining men stood in silence until Jumun softly muttered.

“I’m a bit worried.”

Jumyeong sighed in agreement.

“He’s so straight-laced, he’s almost too pure. That makes him the kind of guy who’s easy to taint.”

Currently, Juchun was considered the next Clan Leader candidate and the hope of the Heavenly Thunder Clan.

Jumyeong, who did nothing but waste his days.

Jumun, obsessed with martial arts yet lacking talent.

Compared to these two, Juchun’s involvement in the research led by the Cult Leader already shone brightly.

However, having watched Juchun closely since they were young, the two knew that Juchun wasn’t the kind of person who should be hailed as a beacon of hope.

“Especially since he’s been exposed to forbidden arts for so long… Sometimes, I can see madness creeping into his eyes.”

“…Isn’t there a way to stop him?”

Jumyeong shrugged at that question.

“How? The Clan Leader’s backing him so much, what else can we do?”

“……”

“The only thing we can do is beat some sense into him if he ever goes astray.”

“Is that so?”

Beat him back to his senses.

That wasn’t such a bad idea.

“If he goes astray… I’ll stake everything I have to stop him.”

The young Jumun made that vow.

Hearing that, Jumyeong let out a scoffing laugh.

“Yeah, sure. Coming from someone still stuck near Peak Master Level?”

“…I’ll surpass you soon enough. You better stay on guard.”

Jumun’s face turned slightly red.

This was decades ago.

Back when the relationship between these three, who had grown up like real brothers, had not yet collapsed.

***

Puhk!

A long gash appeared on Jumun’s chest.

Had the angle of his arm been just a bit different, his arm would have been severed entirely instead.

“……!!”

Silent shock filled the air.

The leadership of the Cheon Clan, along with top experts like the Sword Demon and Saber Demon, could hardly believe what they were witnessing.

“…Impressive.”

Despite having his sword split in two, Jumun wore an even more belligerent smile.

Even with his ultimate technique shattered right before his eyes.

Even though the one who broke it wasn’t even half his age.

He, too, calmly gauged my capabilities, just as I had done with him.

“Bring out more. I want to see the extent of your true power.”

“Is this not enough to prove myself?”

“No, it’s not.”

Zzzzzt!

From the broken blade of the Demonic Soul’s First Sword, sword qi began to emanate, filling the shattered section.

His fighting spirit had not died out yet.

“The Cult Leader told me… this might be my final test.”

“…Final test?”

I felt something ominous in those words.

It wasn’t the retirement I had fleetingly imagined.

It was like watching a warrior polish his weapon before stepping onto a battlefield where death was certain.

I asked him directly.

“May I know the reason?”

Strangely enough, Cheon Jumun answered without hesitation.

“Because I have to kill my brother, who has turned into a monster.”

A brother turned monster… huh.

For a brief moment, my gaze shifted toward Cheon Jumyeong seated in the honored seat.

But for some reason, I felt that the ‘monster’ he referred to wasn’t Cheon Jumyeong.

“I owe the Cult Leader more than I can ever repay. The only reason someone like me, lacking in martial talent, has reached this level… it’s entirely thanks to his guidance.”

“You cannot reach the Transcendent Demon Realm on talent alone.”

I was certain of this.

To reach the realm beyond even supreme masters, one needed the strength of causality, forged through relentless self-cultivation.

But Cheon Jumun remained resolute.

“Even so, that doesn’t erase his grace.”

“…I see.”

Fair enough.

I, too, had received the help and grace of many to reach my current level.

‘To kill his own brother…’

For some reason, I felt I shouldn’t let Cheon Jumun leave just like this.

If I ended this cleanly now, I had the ominous feeling I would never see him again.

‘Looks like I’ll have to push this a little harder.’

Until now, I had regarded Cheon Jumun as a potential threat to Cheon Yura.

But if he had circumstances I could resolve…

I couldn’t afford to let a talent like him slip away from Cheon Yura’s side.

“…Looks like your resolve is set.”

Cheon Jumun seemed intrigued by my sudden shift in attitude.

“I will subdue you.”

At my words, Cheon Jumun’s expression shifted for the first time.

“…Arrogant. Not kill, but subdue, you say?”

“If you can’t keep up, that’s what will happen.”

I began to accelerate my cognitive perception of time.

And then, the flow of everything around me started to slow down.

Even Ilro and the other Extreme Demon Realm masters of the Cheon Clan began to move sluggishly.

In this world where I now stood, I figured there were perhaps only five or so who could react even slightly.

—Damn it. He really has reached the Transcendent Demon Realm, hasn’t he?

—How many times did I tell you?

—I thought he was using some kind of trick or secret technique! It’s already unbelievable that he’s Extreme Demon at that age, but Transcendent Demon?!

I sensed two middle-aged men bickering in the same accelerated world as me, somewhere off in the distance.

I didn’t need to think hard to know who they were.

Well, those two were one thing.

But the one standing before me—how would Cheon Jumun fare?

Step!

—I see. So this is what you had in mind?

As expected, he had also entered the accelerated time of the Transcendent Demon Realm.

He transmitted his thoughts to me through sound transmission.

—Unlike in the Extreme Demon Realm, where martial arts counterplay can overturn the difference, from the Transcendent Realm onward, the gap is defined by the difference in realms.

In the early to mid stages of the Transcendent Demon Realm, the outcome was determined by who could accelerate their perception of time more.

However, such confrontations were rare.

Fights between masters of the Transcendent Demon Realm almost never happened, and even when they did, this kind of battle was emotionally unpleasant for many.

The way Cheon Jumun had phrased it—“they say”—suggested that he had never actually faced someone of equal standing before.

—But even this isn’t a guaranteed path to victory.

Indeed, nothing in the world was absolute.

However…

—If you have already found the ‘answer’ to your life, then it might be different.

Just like the disciples of the Heavenly Demon Founder, if one could stake their life on surpassing their master and find their own answer, then they could overcome even the difference in this accelerated time ratio.

But I was certain that Cheon Jumun had not reached that stage yet.

—…….

Cheon Jumun fell silent.

I pointed my sword at him.

—I will subdue you. And I will hear the truth you are hiding.

—It won’t be easy.

No more words were needed.

Until a victor and a loser emerged—this was all that remained.

Cheon Jumun and I moved our swords at the same time.

Pop!

“…What is this?”

The masters of the Cheon Clan, who had been watching the hall with eyes wide open, could not hide their confusion at what had just occurred.

It looked as if the youth of the Jin Clan and the Death King Enforcer had exchanged blows, but in the blink of an eye, new wounds began to appear all over the Death King Enforcer’s body.

“W-What just happened?”

“I blinked, and the wounds were already there.”

“……”

“……”

Those who had barely reached the threshold of the Extreme Demon Realm, like Ilro and a few others, realized what the strange sensation was.

But to those who had not reached that level, it looked like some ghostly trick was being played before their eyes.

Cheon Jumyeong, who had yet to reach the pinnacle of the Extreme Demon Realm, clenched his teeth and watched.

“Jumun…”

Unlike Ilro and the other high-level masters, he couldn’t quite grasp what was happening.

But he knew full well just how desperately his brother was fighting right now.

After all, hadn’t they spent their entire lives together?

Without anyone noticing, Cheon Jumyeong bit his lip ever so slightly.

“…I wish…”

His gaze, filled with a hint of longing, turned toward the opponent facing Cheon Jumun.

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