“Geekeek…”

Sluuuuuurp.

My short body stretches long.

“Hehe. This is unavoidable.”

“Keyoong!”

Dang So-young, who promised to take care of me, was fiddling with my body alongside the spiders.

It was clear she was fulfilling her own desires, but for now, I would endure it.

After everything was over, I could just put that dumpling head in my mouth.

“…I feel like it’s going to get damp and dark. Is that just my imagination?”

“Geck geck.”

It’s already too late, Dang Whatever.

Still, watching her do it might earn her some forgiveness, so she should do her best.

With a serious expression, Dang So-young examined me.

She gently stroked my scales and then placed her hand on my belly.

“Gegeck!”

Thud.

“Kyah! That hurts!”

She was attempting to explore my precious parts. Endure the trial of biting.

Dang So-young, in her own way, endured my bites.

Of course, she whimpered and cried out that it hurt.

“…I’ve figured out the cause!”

She stopped chewing.

As expected of the genius of the Dang family, Dang So-young.

I believed in your potential.

“The side effects of bringing my mana to its limit have occurred!”

Dang Whatever, looking down at me with a triumphant expression.

Nyang nyang.

“Kyah!”

I knew that, Baek Yeon-young knew that, and even the spiders knew that.

“…But it doesn’t stop there; I’ve also figured out the solution!”

As expected of Dang So-young.

I never doubted you for a moment.

I patiently waited for her to finish speaking.

Waiting this long was fine.

Our Dang So-young is a precious talent who knows how to revert my body.

“All you have to do is eat well and rest well.”

“Geck.”

Nom nom nom.

“Kyah! Really, I’m serious!”

To offer such a thing as a solution.

Waaah.

“Kyah! It hurts! I’m bleeding!”

The true divine beast was disappointed in the Dang family.

So that’s why you’re stealing the open portal to the heavens.

“I-I feel like my heart hurts more than my finger?”

I didn’t like the mana pocket either.

“At this level, it’s still…! Huh? What was I trying to explain?”

Dang So-young was mumbling to herself.

In fact, shouldn’t we fix Dang So-young’s head before my body?

“What’s that expression? I became like this because of the Great Master!”

“Geck geck.”

Slap.

“Ugh! Why are you hitting my butt!”

“Keyoong!”

“Why are you angry! Kyah!”

*

One of the buildings of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Cheonryongchae, was noisier than usual.

“The sky has turned dark. What on earth is happening!”

The sudden arrival of darkness.

Even the elders who had experienced numerous hardships had never encountered such a phenomenon before.

If it were an event similar to the moon covering the sun, one could understand it.

Though the exact cause was unknown, such things had happened before.

But this time was different.

Something black and foggy obscured the sun.

Moreover, those clouds were dotted with red, grotesque eyes.

In this unprecedented situation, all the elders holding positions within the Cheonryongchae gathered.

“Calm down. It’s still disappearing quickly.”

“Even if it’s a temporary phenomenon, shouldn’t we dispatch an investigation team immediately?”

“The headmaster has sealed the entrance to the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. What are we to do?”

“This situation is different!”

A commotion broke out.

The elders were all distinguished martial artists.

They possessed overwhelming strength capable of representing their respective families.

They were a deterrent force preventing the Murim Alliance from recklessly overstepping into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

With such martial artists gathered in one place, conflicts of opinion were bound to arise.

Baek Seolhwa, the goddess of the Heavenly Demon Cult, frowned.

It wasn’t because she was disturbed by the elders causing a ruckus while she was present.

It was because of the expression on Baek Yeon-young’s face, who was looking down at them with an interesting demeanor.

“Stop it. The headmaster is waiting.”

Baek Seolhwa intervened, unable to bear it any longer.

“The headmaster? Huh, huh!”

How could a senior elder not know that the headmaster was present here?

The answer was simple.

Baek Yeon-young had always been this way.

Even when the Phoenix rampaged, or when the eight-headed snake devoured a mountain.

Whenever a serious matter arose and the elders gathered for a meeting, she never showed her face.

The meetings of the Heavenly Demon Cult had devolved into elders exchanging opinions, later reporting directly to the headmaster.

It was an abnormal structure, yet no one dared to voice complaints.

Baek Yeon-young was the head of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

When the elders were in a fluster, formulating countermeasures, Baek Yeon-young had acted alone.

It was she who had subdued the phoenix, and she who had removed the mountain from atop the snake.

Most of what the elders concluded in their meetings often turned out to be useless.

By the time they reported to her, all incidents had usually been resolved.

It wasn’t that the elders were slow or incompetent.

It was simply that Baek Yeon-young was too strong and too fast.

Thus, this time, too, they thought Baek Yeon-young wouldn’t attend.

The elders were merely discussing the black energy and preparing to report to her.

However, Baek Yeon-young had been waiting for them from the beginning.

Moreover, she had intentionally hidden her energy, so it was no wonder the elders didn’t notice her presence.

“The supreme one of the Heavenly Demon Cult…!”

“Stop.”

With a single word, Baek Yeon-young dismissed the elders who were trying to maintain decorum.

“Maintaining decorum is sufficient once a day.”

Baek Yeon-young, who had been watching from the second floor, descended to the first floor.

An unprecedented event had unfolded.

Baek Yeon-young spoke to the elders about the current incident.

Although she had a habit of not explaining things properly, the elders had known her for a long time.

Any elder who didn’t understand her words would no longer be an elder.

Thus, they understood her well enough.

The force that had compelled the head of the Heavenly Demon Cult, Baek Yeon-young, to summon the elders.

The owner of that force was Tae Se.

A wicked god trying to dominate spirits and spread his evil.

They realized the fact that he had come.

“Tae Se…”

The elders murmured the name of Tae Se.

As a group that revered the Heavenly Demon, they couldn’t help but know of his existence.

“Headmaster. So, what should we do now regarding Tae Se…?”

“It’s alright. I’ve dealt with him, so there’s no need to worry for a while.”

She had dealt with Tae Se.

Seeing the sky brighten confirmed that her words were true.

Still, she participated in the meeting.

That meant there was another reason for her presence.

“However, this incident has given the Murim Alliance justification.”

The cause of the inexplicable events that had occurred in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

“The wicked Demon Cult is scheming something. That’s what they’ll say.”

Even if they knew what the truth was, they wouldn’t care.

What they needed was justification.

“The righteous Murim Alliance will gather to prevent the wicked Demon Cult’s schemes.”

Their target was the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

To be precise, they aimed for the spirits within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

Although they tried to keep it hidden, it was information that was bound to spread.

Baek Yeon-young hadn’t killed those who entered the Ten Thousand Great Mountains because she understood the need for powerful martial artists targeting the Ten Thousand Great Mountains from the Heavenly Demon Cult’s perspective.

“I may have exaggerated a bit, but they’ll undoubtedly try to lay claim to our Ten Thousand Great Mountains by any means necessary.”

The elders didn’t want the Murim Alliance to move.

If they joined forces, Baek Yeon-young would be in trouble too.

Yet they wouldn’t join forces.

Their purpose wasn’t the eradication of the wicked Demon Cult but rather obtaining precious inner elixirs.

It was clear that they would try to take the biggest advantage while shifting responsibility onto each other.

“There’s only one thing I have to say to you all.”

But it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.

“All elders, prepare for the invasion of the Murim Alliance.”

The hearts of the elders raced at high speed.

Baek Yeon-young was different from previous headmasters.

She had risen to the position of headmaster without any background, and unlike other headmasters, she didn’t seek to advance into the Central Plains.

Her job was to manage the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, and her belief was to ensure the believers of the Heavenly Demon Cult didn’t starve.

She focused more on internal affairs than war.

The elders had some dissatisfaction with her actions, but they too were followers of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Since it was an action consistent with doctrine, they had no choice but to comply with her wishes, even if they were unhappy.

Now Baek Yeon-young had issued orders to prepare for an invasion.

At first glance, it could seem like something that should be said.

However, the elders took it differently.

Preparing for an invasion meant they should be ready to advance into the Central Plains at any moment.

She had finally made

 a decisive resolution.

The elders realized why Baek Yeon-young had attended this meeting.

This too was a justification.

If the Murim Alliance truly attacked first, it would be akin to her declaration that she would immediately advance into the Central Plains.

Of course, the elders didn’t exclude the possibility that they had jumped to conclusions.

Perhaps she was just saying they should prepare for an invasion because the enemy was attacking.

Such remarks might have been uttered.

“And the most important thing remains.”

Gulp.

The elders swallowed hard.

The headmaster’s words would complete that statement.

They could take preemptive strikes in the chaotic situation.

They could use deception to trap the Murim Alliance.

Any method would be acceptable.

If it was a command from the headmaster, they were prepared to devote their lives to carve a path to the Central Plains.

Just a little hint would suffice.

They needed to show a bit of the headmaster’s will to invade the Murim Alliance.

However, Baek Yeon-young’s next words were not what the elders had anticipated.

“Does anyone know of a dish that would please Seok-cheok?”

The headmaster, who had previously displayed an imposing demeanor, was now smiling softly.

Looking at her little ring finger.

A small circular mark blushing crimson.

As if resembling a ring, she muttered to herself.

“I feel like I need to feed him something since he’s too thin.”

Even though the meeting had concluded, the elders couldn’t easily leave their seats.

It was because they found it difficult to understand the headmaster’s words.

Surely, there must be some meaning they didn’t know.

Surely, she wasn’t calling them together just because she was curious about what food a lizard likes.

Raising a beloved lizard could be possible.

In fact, various spirits lived within the Heavenly Demon Cult.

However, to prioritize the food for a lizard over the remnants of Tae Se or the invasion of the Murim Alliance.

Even if they assumed the headmaster was considering her stature and strength, they couldn’t help but think those two were not that important.

Then naturally, the reason for attending the meeting would be to ask about the lizard’s food.

That couldn’t be true.

Baek Yeon-young, the head of the Heavenly Demon Cult, couldn’t possibly be that trivial.

“Seok-cheok…”

The elders constantly murmured that word.

They believed there must be another meaning behind the headmaster’s words.