Chapter 336: Their Past (3)

The proposal from Cheon Taejong to form the Heavenly Thunder Corps.

Cheon Jumyeong had spent several days in deep contemplation, but in the end, he decided to accept the Young Cult Leader’s proposal.

“Alright, you’ve made a good decision.”

He placed his hand on Cheon Jumyeong’s shoulder with a satisfied smile.

“But remember this, above all else.”

…Shiver!

Something from the abyss, something that even the top masters of the Cheon Clan’s Extreme Demon Realm could not compare to, suddenly overwhelmed Cheon Jumyeong’s entire body.

“You will be granted a tremendous amount of power. You’ll become one of the greatest authorities in the Cult.”

Creak! Crack!

“…Ugh!”

There was no visible pressure.

Yet, for some reason, Cheon Jumyeong’s knees began to slowly buckle.

“With great power comes great responsibility. Remember this well. If you ever lose sight of your purpose and become drunk on power…”

For a brief moment, Cheon Taejong’s eyes flickered with a dark glow.

“...know that even death will not be your escape.”

Having made up his mind, Cheon Jumyeong immediately went to visit Cheon Jumun to inform him of his decision.

However—

“Jumun! What the hell happened?!”

He was shocked to see Cheon Jumun lying in the main hall of the Medicine Hall, his entire body wrapped in bandages.

“You’re here, Jumyeong.”

Cheon Jumun greeted him without even attempting to sit up.

“This… are these stab wounds?”

Cheon Jumyeong hurriedly examined Cheon Jumun’s injuries.

His entire body was torn apart as if shredded by something sharp.

“I don’t understand. Who did you fight against?!”

At this point, Cheon Jumun had already reached the peak of Master Level. He had even been evaluated as someone who could soon break through into the Extreme Demon Realm if given just a bit more time.

For someone like Cheon Jumun to end up in such a state, there were only two possibilities.

Either an overwhelmingly powerful master had toyed with him.

Or he had barely survived after being attacked by multiple masters in a coordinated assault.

Normally, the second scenario would have been the more likely one, but Cheon Jumyeong’s judgment pointed elsewhere.

‘The pattern of the wounds is too consistent.’

The stab wounds covering Cheon Jumun’s body all came from a single weapon.

“Besides, these aren’t sword wounds. It’s more like… a scythe.”

“As expected, your eyes are sharp.”

Cheon Jumun let out a faint smile.

“Who did this to you?”

Cheon Jumun answered.

“A monster.”

“…A monster?”

“Yes, a monster.”

Cheon Jumyeong fell silent for a moment.

Cheon Jumun was not one to exaggerate.

If he said “monster,” he didn’t mean a human who was like a monster.

He meant an actual monster.

“What did the one you fought look like?”

Cheon Jumyeong suspected it might have been a jiangshi or a human who had lost control to a demonic technique, but the answer he received exceeded all expectations.

“Its arms had grown long like scythes. Its skin wasn’t human—it looked metallic. I couldn’t see its face clearly since it was midnight, but I’m sure I wasn’t mistaken.”

“…What?”

“It could regenerate from most wounds almost instantly. If I hadn’t risked everything to take off its head, I would have been the one to die.”

“……”

For Cheon Jumun to say such a thing, the enemy must have been truly dangerous.

But that wasn’t the issue right now.

Cheon Jumyeong shared his decision to stand with the Young Cult Leader.

“I see. If it’s you, I’m sure you’ll do well.”

Lying on his bed, Cheon Jumun suddenly said something unexpected.

“I’ve decided to take command of the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad.”

“What? The Demonic Ghost Execution Squad?”

The Demonic Ghost Execution Squad was an assassination unit directly under the Cult Leader, operating in the shadows of the Guardian Hall.

On the surface, it seemed prestigious, but in reality, it was little more than a disposable group that didn’t even make the ranks of the Thirty-Four Demon Squads.

So few survived long enough to retire and live peacefully that they could be counted on one hand per generation.

“Why the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad? With your ability, you could—”

With his talent, Cheon Jumun could have easily led one of the Cult’s elite forces someday.

Or perhaps even become the Great Guardian of the Guardian Hall.

“The monsters that blocked the pursuit squad… they were the natural enemies of ordinary martial artists. To hunt them down, we need people who can stab a blade into a throat without hesitation from the shadows.”

Cheon Jumyeong couldn’t understand his brother’s reasoning.

“…Even if those monsters exist, isn’t that all in the past now? Why cling to them so desperately?”

“Because the one who created those monsters… was none other than Juchun.”

“…!!!”

“Juchun called them ‘my lovely failures’.”

‘Failures?’

Could something considered a failure really tear Cheon Jumun apart like this?

“When he said that… Juchun looked like a demon wearing human skin. No, more accurately, it was like a demon had taken over Juchun’s body.”

It sounded like a childish ghost story that only little kids would believe.

But coming from Cheon Jumun, it could not be dismissed so easily.

“The moment I saw him like that, I knew. I have to kill Juchun. He’s no longer the brother we once knew.”

His eyes gleamed with fierce resolve.

“He has become the true monster that we must stop with our own hands.”

“……”

“I will continue to grow stronger. I will become the second-in-command of the Cult, following in the footsteps of the Young Cult Leader, who will ascend to become the Heavenly Demon. And one day… I will grant Juchun his rest with my own hands.”

“…Alright.”

Cheon Jumyeong clenched his teeth.

While he had been distracted by other matters, Cheon Jumun had never once taken his eyes off Juchun.

Realizing that filled him with crushing shame.

“I’ll help you.”

“Thank you, brother.”

Cheon Jumun faintly smiled as he gripped Cheon Jumyeong’s hand.

***

Several years later, Cheon Jumun reached the Extreme Demon Realm and, with the cooperation of the So Clan, reestablished the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad.

However, in the midst of all that, the squad was nearly disbanded due to the infiltration of a spy sent by Juchun, causing a storm that nearly wiped out what they had painstakingly rebuilt.

Somehow, we had managed to rebuild the Demonic Ghost Execution Squad and stood on the brink of reaping the results.

Nearly twenty years had passed since the two of us began walking this path together.

With the Cult Leader’s aid, Cheon Jumun had reached the Transcendent Demon Realm.

The moment the Cult Leader ascended, he would leave the Cult to hunt down Cheon Juchun.

‘If only…’

Sitting on the platform, I stared intently at Jin Yeomyung, who held his sword.

‘If only you could stop him from walking this path of vengeance.’

The Cheon Juchun I knew must have already become a true monster by now, nothing more than a beast wearing a human face.

No matter how monstrous Cheon Jumun had become, I couldn’t be sure he had any real chance of winning against the real monster.

‘No, it’s not even about victory.’

Whether he succeeded in killing Cheon Juchun or not, Cheon Jumun would end his life tied to that man.

That feeling gnawed at me strongly.

Slash!

Slash, slash!

Wounds kept appearing on Cheon Jumun’s body.

I couldn’t comprehend the principle behind what was happening, likely because I had not yet reached the higher realms.

Yet, looking at the peaceful expression on Cheon Jumun’s face, I didn’t think he was cornered at all.

Not long after—

Cheon Jumun’s sword swung toward something, deflecting whatever had just flown toward him.

“Amazing. You forced your sword intent to resonate with my energy wave?”

Cheon Jumun had responded to my attack in a simple way.

He had forcibly amplified his output and entered an accelerated time zone.

“That must be draining.”

Even if he had increased his output, the difference in our strength was undeniable.

A towel squeezed to its limit would soon reveal its shortcomings.

If this continued, I would win.

However—

“It doesn’t matter.”

Cheon Jumun tightened his grip on his sword, his fighting spirit unwavering.

“I just need to settle this before I burn out.”

A dark blue Heaven-Slaying Qi emerged from Cheon Jumun’s sword.

Not just enough to surround the blade—it was enough to cloak his entire upper body in overwhelming energy.

‘He’s pushing himself too hard.’

Reaching the Transcendent Demon Realm allowed one to break through the limits of internal energy.

But that didn’t mean one had infinite power.

If you exhausted yourself faster than you could replenish, the bottom would eventually show.

Cheon Jumun was pushing his power to the absolute limit, fully prepared to scrape himself dry.

‘Still, he’s a master of the Transcendent Demon Realm. At this rate, we could fight for days.’

His reserves ran deep and wide.

‘He’s not someone I can defeat with technique alone.’

If I tried to get clever with him, I would be devoured instantly.

There was only one conclusion.

I had to crush him with overwhelming power, giving him no room to resist.

Fortunately, Cheon Jumun seemed determined to stick to this power struggle without changing strategies.

That unwavering determination was something I had to respect.

‘In that case, I’ll give it my all as well.’

Though martial artists often said to hide thirty percent of their true strength, holding back now against someone coming at me with such sincerity would be the height of disrespect.

At last, the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword began to float as if it were weightless.

Two types of energy spiraled along the blade in harmony.

Compared to the torrent surrounding Cheon Jumun, mine seemed modest, almost boring, yet the masters observing from afar all wore grim expressions, fully aware of the danger.

If Resonance Qi was about combining two energies, what I was doing now was taking those two and merging them with sword intent itself.

At that moment, Cheon Yura, who had been silently observing the changes in my sword from above, softly smiled.

“Excellent…”

She knew exactly what this sword represented.

After all, until just recently, she had been responsible for one of the spiraling energies flowing through that blade.

She turned her gaze toward Cheon Jumyeong and spoke.

“How about interfering?”

“…What did you say?”

Cheon Jumyeong’s expression twisted.

“It’s not too late. If you want to save your brother, you’d better act quickly.”

She threw back at him the very words he had spoken earlier.

“He could really die.”

“……”

Cheon Jumyeong shut his mouth.

Though he wanted to deny it, there was something unsettling about the energy swirling around my sword.

However—

Cheon Jumyeong ultimately chose not to step in and remained seated.

“Are you sure about this?”

“I trust Jumun. He won’t lose to a mere brat like that.”

“A mere brat, huh…”

Cheon Yura curled one corner of her mouth into a chilling smirk.

It was an uncharacteristic sneer for her.

“So you still see him as a mere brat.”

“……”

“You’ll pay dearly for ignoring my warning.”

The energy on both our swords reached its peak.

“Thank you.”

Cheon Jumun suddenly spoke to me.

I nodded and replied plainly.

“You’re welcome.”

There was no need for more words.

Both of us unleashed our ultimate techniques at the same time.

This clash would decide everything.

And the winner would most likely be…

Just as the masters, including the Sword Demon and Saber Demon, were drawing their conclusions—

Someone appeared right in the center of the collision point.

“…!”

“…!!”

The ‘someone’ casually extended both hands toward the devastating techniques Cheon Jumun and I had unleashed.

If that person hadn’t been the Cult Leader, it would have been the kind of suicidal move that would make anyone question their sanity.

—Heavenly Demon Seal.

With a casual sweep of his palm, he caught both Cheon Jumun’s final strike and my sword’s killing energy as if it were nothing.

‘Insane…’

He then gently combined the two energies into one and shot it straight into the sky.

BOOOOM!

It looked like a massive black dragon coiling and ascending toward the heavens.

“Wooooaaahhh!”

“Amazinggg!!”

“Heavenly Demon’s Dominance! Ten Thousand Demons Rejoice!”

The cult members watching from afar erupted into cheers.

The combined energies we had unleashed vanished without a trace into the sky.

“You troublemakers. Were you planning to get our cult members hurt over some pointless pride fight?”

The Cult Leader, looking like a young man, spoke to us with a gentle smile.

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