Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

Chapter 150 – Frog in a Well (2)

Translated by : moonchildkhz

***

The blood of the enemy was before him.

Peng Hak looked like a cowering mouse. They were blood relatives, but they had such contrasting figures.

But Peng Hak wanted to look small…

It was so ridiculous Woon-seong laughed to himself.

Master, I have the blood of the enemy before me…

Woon-seong closed his eyes for a moment.

More strength entered his fingers.

Wooduck—

More markings appeared on the throne.

If it had been the Woon-seong burning for vengeance long ago, he would have killed them in a heartbeat.

He did not do so now.

It was not because his vengeance had disappeared.

Woon-seong’s revenge had changed over a long time.

His hatred no longer burned.

Instead, it had become deeper and more poisonous. It coiled and slithered beneath, like a viper.

Woon-seong loosened his grip on the throne.

Bang—

The armrest splintered as it fell to the floor.

At last, Woon-seong opened his eyes to look at the enemy.

I will kill them, but in no easy manner.

Woon-seong stared at them.

When Woon-seong’s gaze landed at them, they trembled.

Only one person was looking back at Woon-seong.

Leader of the New Dragon Battalion.

In his previous life, when Woon-seong learned about the New Dragon Battalion, he had also been told about a young and talented child in the New Dragon School.

Was his name Sa Ryong-hui?

The leader of the New Dragon Battalion seemed to have the exact same name as that little boy.

In the past, Woon-seong had considered it the appearance of a talented junior.

But now they were enemies.

Woon-seong opened his mouth, wanting to tell them something.

But Sa Ryong-hui was faster.

“What the hell is the Cult Leader planning in such a bloodied place?”

The demonic practitioners twitched; Gwan Tae-ryang glared down at the man.

However, Sa Ryong-hui did not take his gaze off Woon-seong.

“Scared?”

Woon-seong hummed and Sa Ryong-hui nodded.

“I heard that the world ruled by the Cult of the Heavenly Demon is full of evil and wickedness. That blood and corpses pile up like mountains, that sorrow and lament overflow like the sea.”

The expressions of the demons distorted in an instant.

Nevertheless, Woon-seong’s voice was calm and quiet.

“But?”

“But that cannot be. That would be hell on earth. If the Cult Leader made such a world, who would bow down before the Cult Leader? A leader with no followers would not last a hundred years. If the Cult Leader thinks he is a god, I say to ask the masses if he is.”

“……”

“Return to Mount Heaven right now.”

Sa Ryong-hui’s voice was filled with strength.

There was an intense outcry.

Woon-seong dismissed their complaints, silencing them.

“You sound ridiculous. ”

“…?”

Woon-seong’s voice made Sa Ryong-hui tremble.

Suddenly, Woon-seong’s eyes were glittering gold. A gray aura flowed out of his body and wrapped around Sa Ryong-hui.

Sa Ryong-hui’s back was immediately drenched with sweat, goosebumps appearing on his arms.

He felt like he was facing a wall of overwhelming horror.

A wall he could never cross.

And that wall told him, “Sa Ryong-hui of the New Dragon Battalion. There is no support for the religion of our Cult… Who said that?”

“Well, that’s…”

There was no need for him to explain.

All the Orthodox martial artists would have said the same thing.

Woon-seong knew that too.

“Then, I ask you, what is the difference between our Cult and the Martial Alliance?”

Sa Ryong-hui bit his lips. Blood flowed down his chin. As the metallic tang hit his tongue, it seemed a little bit of fear went away and he was able to answer.

“The Martial Alliance is a union of factions. It is in place to bring good to Murim. To punish the demons, destroy evils, and fill the world with orthodoxy and roots of the crown—”

“Enough.”

Woon-seong interrupted Sa Ryong-hui. He waved slightly.

A torrent of energy slammed into the prisoners. Overwhelmed by the Intimidation Qi, Peng Hak fell unconscious.

Woon-seong’s wrath was pouring over their heads.

Woon-seong snorted to himself, Those who have been educated by the hypocrites are usually less stupid.

“Then I ask, what is righteousness?”

“Well, that’s…”

Sa Ryong-hui did not dare answer the question.

Woon-seong continued speaking.

“Is it just to sacrifice someone for a grand cause? Then, do you think those sacrificed will still consider it a grand cause?”

Sa Ryong-hui suddenly remembered everything he had done in the name of Murim, all those he had sacrificed in the pursuit of a grand goal.

The New Dragon Battalion, including Sa Ryong-hui, had tried to ignore the sacrifices under the guise of justice.

With Woon-seong’s words, these scenes clearly came to mind.

“If not, is justice shouting for peace and prosperity, but then raising the Black Way sects and bandit groups to terrorize the masses, forcing the people to rely on the sects?”

Woon-seong had once been a part of the Orthodox faction.

That was why he knew better than anyone what the Orthodox did in their hypocrisy.

Woon-seong’s words dug deep into Sa Ryong-hui’s chest, like sharp arrows.

“Or is the virtuous man the one who trains and hires devils to kill all those who oppose him?”

“……”

Sa Ryong-hui could not say anything.

“I’ll ask you again: what is a grand cause?”

“……”

“What is righteousness?”

Woon-seong’s voice squeezed Sa Ryong-hui. He signed, shaking his head, “I don’t know.”

“I see,” nodded Woon-seong.

While the conversation was going on, Gwan Tae-ryang could see his old self in Sa Ryong-hui.

You are trapped in the world you know, thinking that is all.

‘Frog in a well.’

Gwan Tae-ryang recalled those words again.

Meanwhile, Woon-seong continued.

“Let me ask you something else. The Qinghai Alliance was afraid of our Cult and thus stole the boats of the fishermen and merchants, burning them all. It was our Cult that returned their livelihoods to them. Does that make me noble?”

“……”

Woon-seong went on.

“In Qaidam Basin, those so-called Orthodox factions forced sect members to sacrifice their own brethren for the cause. Powerless sects had no choice but to aim their swords at the Cult. It was this Lord who let them leave the battlefield alive when they surrendered. Then, am I the emperor?”

Regardless of political faction, Woon-seong’s actions were unthinkable — they were just.

However, to acknowledge the Cult of the Heavenly Demon as good and fair… It was a difficult task for Sa Ryong-hui, who had been educated by Murim for years.

“Grrrgh.”

Sa Ryong-hui groaned.

Woon-seong added, “The Cult also reduced the protection fees across our territory. Isn’t that honorable?”

“ ……. I still cannot answer.”

To Sa Ryong-hui, Woon-seong’s words were filled with ridicule. He felt like asking what the hell the man was talking about.

“Then I’ll change my words again. Who is it that insists on insulting the nature of our Cult?”

Woon-seong’s question penetrated through time to look at the history of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. To be precise, it was a question about the very beginning, before the Cult of the Heavenly Demon came to be.

The Cult of the Heavenly Demon was demonic.

But who made them demonic? Did the Founder like the word ‘demon’ and so used it when founding the Cult of the Heavenly Demon?

The answer was no.

The First Heavenly Demon chose ‘demon’ because of the attitude of the Orthodox.

Prior to the birth of the Cult, the Heavenly Mountains were merely a place for those who had fled Zhongyuan to live.

The First Heavenly Demon united them and pointed his sword against Zhongyuan, calling himself a demon and founding the Cult.

The First Heavenly Demon, Founder of the Cult, chose to become a demon in order to become Zhongyuan’s nightmare.

So while ‘demon’ was at the heart of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon, it was the Orthodox who had made it so.

“…….”

Sa Ryong-hui failed to answer again. No, he couldn’t answer.

The Cult of the Heavenly Demon he had learned about was just stories. Nobody had explained why they were called demonic.

I have been trained not to tell the truth, but to close my eyes and distort the lies until I believe it is the truth.

Sa Ryong-hui dared not answer.

“I still cannot answer.”

“ …….There is benevolence in the demon, love within the demons, and the chivalrous amongst the demonic” (魔中仁, 魔中愛, 魔中俠).

‘There are heroes even amongst the Demonic.’

Those were the words of Nok Yu-on, Woon-seong’s master.

And what he said was the truth.

“ ……!!”

Sa Ryong-hui raised his head.

“There is benevolence in the demon, love within the demons, and the chivalrous amongst the demonic. But does your faction allow you to see that?”

Woon-seong’s gaze swept across the believers. His words had made some of them teary.

They could not agree with him more.

They were not so different from ordinary people.

“Look, are they three-headed monsters? If not, do they seem to be drinking blood? Do they have horns on their heads?”

The Orthodox faction taught children that the demonic were not human.

Now, Woon-seong threw those words back at them, mocking the teachings as backwards.

Behold.

Even though the demonic live a life of pride, we are still human. We may push others to the limit, but we are still human.

Who was it that forced us to live so harshly and cruelly?

Do you have the right to tell us to stop?

Do you have the confidence to call yourself fair and righteous?

“I, I, the…. ”

Sa Ryong-hui dared not answer Woon-seong and continued to mutter meaningless words.

Watching such man, Woon-seong snorted lightly.

Eventually, he turned to Gwan Tae-ryang.

“Take him away. He will be kept in prison for a few days and then enslaved.”

Gwan Tae-ryang bowed, “Understood.”

Rising from the throne, Woon-seong seemed to have remembered something.

“Ah, take special care of the children of Tang and Peng. Never let them die.”

After all, they will become a great source of despair for the Tang and Peng Clans.

As Woon-seong words fell, Gwan Tae-ryang shouted, “Understood!”