The demon's limbs flew off, leaving him writhing on the floor. The orthodox martial artist, who had been watching in shock, muttered absentmindedly, his eyes trembling.

“Heavenly Demon…?”

Controlling a demon with a single word? Who else but the Heavenly Demon could perform such a feat?

Hearing this, Cheon Seo-jun let out a small laugh.

“I’m not the Heavenly Demon.”
“Then…?”
“I guess you could call me the future Heavenly Demon.”

The man’s eyes widened in horror.

“Y-Young Heavenly Demon…!”

Seo-jun furrowed his brow.

“That’s a bit unpleasant. Are you saying I’m some lackey of the Heavenly Demon?”
“But if not, then—!”
“Enough.”

Wham!

With a casual motion of Seo-jun’s hand, the man’s arms were severed.

“Arghhh! Why… why are you doing this?!”
“Why? If you acted as a spy, you should have been prepared for this.”
“Ghh…! But aren’t you a member of the Demonic Sect?!”
“Shh.”

Crunch! This time, the man’s legs were torn off.

“Ghhhhh…!”

With both men rendered helpless, Seo-jun pressed on their mute points to silence them. Grabbing their heads, he dragged them out of the hidden chamber, smashing through the ceiling of the sect leader’s residence and leaping onto the roof.

Standing tall, Cheon Seo-jun infused his voice with demonic energy, unleashing a lion’s roar across the sect.

“Listen here──────!!”

His thunderous voice reverberated through the sect, startling every martial artist, who turned their attention to him.

When they saw the two men dangling in his hands, murmurs of confusion spread among them.

“Is that… the sect leader…?”
“What’s going on…?”
“What are you all standing around for?! Pull yourselves together! That’s the enemy! Draw your swords!”

One martial artist, recovering his composure, rallied the others, drawing his sword. The others quickly followed suit, encircling the sect leader’s residence with weapons drawn.

Ignoring them, Seo-jun continued speaking.

“Your sect leader has sullied the name of the Divine Sect with his despicable deeds. So I’ve personally dealt with him.”

The Divine Sect…

Hearing another name for the Demonic Sect, the sect’s disciples ground their teeth in fury.

“You bastard…!”

Unable to suppress his rage, one martial artist launched himself at Seo-jun.

Seo-jun dealt with him effortlessly.

Whiz-whiz-whiz!

With pinpoint accuracy, he struck the man’s pressure points with energy needles, causing him to freeze midair and fall to the ground stiff as a board.

Clicking his tongue, Seo-jun remarked, “Beneath the sect leader’s residence is a hidden chamber. Inside, innocent civilians are imprisoned. See to their rescue.”

“Lies!”
“Your sect leader was collaborating with a parasite from the Divine Sect. I’ve done your job for you, so be grateful.”

“Shut your mouth! You vile scum…! I’ll take your head to avenge the sect leader’s honor!”

Despite Seo-jun’s explanation, the martial artists only grew more furious.

Judging by their reaction, they had no connection to the Demonic Sect. Seo-jun, who still had some semblance of a conscience, refrained from annihilating the sect outright. Instead, he unleashed a crushing wave of energy to suppress them.

Boom──────────!!!

It was a demonic manifestation of the Sovereign Sword Form, twisted and amplified with demonic energy.

While previously this technique had limited utility, Seo-jun’s mastery of the Enlightened Realm allowed him to use it as a meaningful form of pressure.

If he had to name it, it would be Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step.

Most of the martial artists couldn’t withstand the overwhelming force, collapsing face-first to the ground.

A few exceptional individuals, around the mid-Pinnacle level, managed to stay standing, but even they couldn’t move.

“Ghh…!”
“How… how is this possible…!”

Seo-jun looked down at them with a smirk. Then, he hurled the sect leader and the demon onto the decorative spire atop the roof.

Crash!

The two men’s bodies dangled in the wind.

“I’ll say it again. Beneath the sect leader’s residence is a hidden chamber with civilians inside. Save them. I won’t allow the name of the Divine Sect to be tarnished by such trivial matters.”

Wham! At that moment, the heads of both the sect leader and the demon were crushed, their lifeless bodies left as a grisly display.

Seo-jun stepped down from the roof and walked through the crowd of martial artists.

Though his gait was leisurely, none dared to stop him.

The disciples, still groaning under the oppressive weight of the Heavenly Demon’s Dominion Step, could only watch him leave.

One martial artist, trembling with fury, shouted as Seo-jun passed.

“Why… why should we follow your will?!”
“Because you have something to gain.”
“Bullshit! What could we possibly gain?!”

Seo-jun locked eyes with the man. His rage-filled gaze burned with defiance rather than submission.

“My mercy.”

With those words, Cheon Seo-jun vanished from Jeonghyeonmun.

The emergence of a new demonic overlord had begun.

Seo-jun, hidden from sight, observed as the disciples of Jeonghyeonmun rescued the captives from the secret chamber.

He had stayed to watch just in case, and to his relief, the disciples of Jeonghyeonmun appeared to have an average level of decency for orthodox martial artists.

“How strange,” Seo-jun muttered, clicking his tongue. Only moments ago, their killing intent toward him had been palpable.

Do you know the feeling of countless people glaring at you as though they want to kill you?

It left a strange aftertaste, as if he had become the villain.

As a proud martial arts master, Seo-jun felt that sparing them and not killing them all with a single strike was enough to prove his moral superiority, placing him in the top 1% of the martial arts world in terms of character.

But why did he bother using the persona of Cheon Seo-jun, enduring insults and hostility?

There wasn’t a grand reason.

If he acted as Lee Seo-jun, it would require endless explanations: why he killed the sect leader, why he infiltrated Jeonghyeonmun, and why he trespassed into the sect leader’s residence.

Though he could provide those explanations, it would still lead to a cascade of bothersome questions.

Even if he let this incident slide, continuing down that path would only increase his number of enemies. He already had plenty and didn’t need any more.

On the other hand, acting as Cheon Seo-jun allowed him to enjoy the thrill without responsibility.

Besides, he hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, he had done something good. Everyone wins.

“Is this all I’ve gained?”

Seo-jun opened the wooden box in his hand. Inside was a pill with a strangely sweet aroma.

It was the item the sect leader of Jeonghyeonmun had prepared for the demon.

Before silencing the demon by sealing his mute points, Seo-jun had asked about the pill’s identity (it seemed cutting off his limbs made him more obedient).

The pill, made from the refined essence of human blood, provided minor life extension and internal energy enhancement.

“Ugh, disgusting.”

Giving it to Chun-bong didn’t feel right.

Seo-jun conjured a flame with his palm and incinerated the pill completely.

With that, his objectives were essentially complete.

Though he hadn’t fully uncovered why he could command demons, it wasn’t something he could resolve immediately. For now, knowing the basic conditions was enough.

The reason he hadn’t noticed this ability before was likely because he had never encountered demons—or perhaps his advancement in cultivation had enabled him to do things previously impossible.

It would’ve been great to obtain some useful demonic arts from the Jeonghyeonmun demon, but his techniques didn’t seem significantly different from those of other demons Seo-jun had encountered, so he hadn’t bothered asking.

“Time to head back.”

Having dealt with the remaining demons hiding in Gulang County, Seo-jun activated Mixed Origin Steps and left the area.

He felt a wave of pride at his own creation.

“This insane Central Plains,” he muttered.

It was truly, absurdly vast.

Hwangbo Hye-ji spent nearly an entire day punching a boulder after Seo-jun left.

Boom! Boom!

Yet after days of relentless strikes, the boulder bore only faint scratches.

“Ugh, it’s only been a few days.”

She hadn’t expected immediate results. Hwangbo Hye-ji continued to train in silence, hammering her fists against the rock.

Suddenly, a deafening crash shattered the calm as a figure came hurtling down into the Namgung family villa.

“An attack?!”

Startled, Hwangbo Hye-ji hastily gathered her internal energy, but Namgung Su-a, training beside her, merely chuckled.

“Lady Namgung…?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s just a bit funny,” Su-a said with a bright smile, waving her hand. With a casual gesture, she swept away the dust with a breeze.

“Welcome back, Seo-jun.”
“Oh, hey, Nuna.”

When the dust cleared, Seo-jun was there, waving cheerfully.

Namgung Su-a rushed to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

“You’ve worked hard.”
“It’s nothing.”

Seo-jun, returning her hug with ease, greeted Hwangbo Hye-ji.

“How’s it going?”
“Uh, well… I haven’t broken it yet,” she replied sheepishly.

Seo-jun inspected the boulder. Tiny marks, faint impressions of her punches, dotted its surface.

‘Huh.’

At her current level before he left, she shouldn’t have been able to leave even a scratch. He had specifically enchanted the rock to match her abilities.

“Wow, you’ve been working hard, huh?”

It seemed she had managed to leave those marks through sheer persistence.

Her sweat-soaked appearance was proof she hadn’t slacked off during his absence.

She was the type to work diligently without needing external motivation. If he had to give her a nickname, “Model Student Hwangbo Hye-ji” would suit her perfectly.

“I still have a long way to go…” she said with a wry smile.

Seo-jun patted her shoulder lightly.

“No, you’re doing great. Let’s keep at it for a few more days. I think we’ll see results soon.”

Though the outcome might not be what she imagined, progress was definitely within reach.

That night.

Thud! Thud!

Even as the others slept, Hwangbo Hye-ji was immersed in her training.

Having practiced for days, she had learned how to strike the boulder without making excessive noise.

“Can I… really do this?”

She pressed her forehead against the rock, its cold surface grounding her thoughts.

After taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and drew her fist back.

“Hap!”

Thud! Her fist struck the rock, and—

Crack—!

A small fissure appeared.

“Huh?”

Her eyes widened in shock. With her heart pounding, she struck again.

Thud!

Crack-crack! The fissure spread further as her fist dug into the boulder.

Caught in a trance, Hwangbo Hye-ji kept punching. Despite the force of her strikes, the sound was muted.

It wasn’t Thunderous Lightning Fist—it was something entirely different. Her silent, relentless punches against the rock carried a serene, almost sacred quality.

And finally—

Craaaaack!

The massive boulder split in half.

Overcome with elation, Hwangbo Hye-ji trembled with joy.

“Amazing…!”

The thrill surged through her, making her head buzz. For a moment, she envisioned Eun Wi-ryong, the fool whose mindset had transformed his swordsmanship.

Though she hadn’t fully embraced Senior Jin Ki-jae’s advice to believe in herself, she felt like she had found a small clue.

‘I can do better. I just need to keep moving forward.’

Quietly savoring her triumph, Hwangbo Hye-ji smiled brightly and returned to her room, her steps unusually light.

After she left, Seo-jun appeared.

“She did it, huh?”

Glancing around, he retrieved the talisman stuck to the rock.

The once-powerful charm had expended all its energy and was now nothing more than ordinary paper.

‘She must’ve worked incredibly hard for this.’

In truth, Hwangbo Hye-ji’s punches hadn’t improved significantly.

It was natural—achieving enlightenment in mere days was almost impossible without a rare opportunity.

The boulder broke simply because she had kept at it persistently, like emptying a bucket of water with a spoon.

The talisman, designed to expend energy with each strike, had finally run out.

Hwangbo Hye-ji might believe she shattered the boulder through her own progress, but unfortunately, that was a misunderstanding. It wasn’t progress—just effort.

But was it really a mere misunderstanding? Not entirely.

Her final punch, born from pure exhilaration, was indeed a step forward, a strike beyond her previous limits.

The illusion of progress had become reality.

“A placebo enlightenment?” Seo-jun chuckled.

Regardless, her effort had paved the way for that moment of clarity.

Had she slacked off, even if the boulder had broken days later, she wouldn’t have experienced such a breakthrough.

“Now all that’s left is to keep pushing her.”

The tiny bit of confidence she had gained—Seo-jun intended to nurture it until it blossomed into a truly exceptional force.