Chronicles of the Demonic Cult Conversion Chapter 50
“Why…… is that.”
Jin Yeong-in opened his mouth.
“Is it because of this cursed body?”
“I will not deny it.”
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God nodded slightly.
“It is unfortunate for you, but the Heavenly Demon’s Physique is a disaster that should never exist again.”
“…….”
“Do you think I want to stain my hands with blood? Moreover, with the blood of his disciple. Therefore, speak your heart and give me an answer that I can accept. So that I do not have to kill you.”
Was it said that sincerity reaches the heart?
Jin Yeong-in felt a sense of relief, as if he had caught a glimpse of the human side of Yi Cheong-ha, not the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
He had realized that there was some great cause in the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's words that she had to kill him.
‘This person…… wants me to live.’
However, it was not an easy task to answer the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's question.
How could he bring up the fact that he had returned from twenty years in the future?
“It is not difficult to tell you. However, I believe that you will not believe me, and that you will not be able to believe me.”
“Disciple of Azure Heaven Divine Warrior.”
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God looked down at Jin Yeong-in with that arrogant gaze and opened her mouth.
“I am one who has seen many things.”
“By many things, you mean…….”
“Though the world is vast, it is less than a speck of dust compared to the universe. You must know that this world where we live and breathe is not all there is.”
“…….”
Jin Yeong-in, who could not understand the hidden meaning in those words, simply remained silent.
“There are countless worlds that we cannot reach or see, like the stars in the sky. Among them, there are worlds where life forms that would look like demonic beasts to our eyes live, worlds ruled by dragons, and worlds like battlegrounds where gods fight by putting forth their own representatives.”
“…….”
“And is it only other worlds? In the distant future, everyone will be able to see tens of thousands of li away from where they sit, a great bird made of iron will fly in the sky, and humans who have realized the laws of the universe will get their hands on the power to destroy the world. I have seen all such things, so there is no reason for me not to be able to believe, and no reason for me not to believe, whatever you say.”
If it were someone else, it would have been dismissed as a completely absurd and nonsensical bluff, but the opponent was the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
She was not an existence who would utter such words lightly.
Beyond being a supreme martial artist who had achieved the number one martial art of all time, she had surely reached a state where she truly saw through the principles of all things and understood the laws of the universe.
At this, Jin Yeong-in opened his mouth.
“I am…….”
After a brief silence.
“A person who has come back from the past.”
Finally, from Jin Yeong-in's mouth flowed the most secret and unbelievable story that could not be told to anyone.
* * *
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God was not agitated.
She was just calm, as if her words that she had seen many things were not a lie.
“A person who has come from the past. Are you talking about regression.”
“Yes.”
“So what happened.”
“I was imprisoned in a place called the Demonic Prison for the reason that I had the Heavenly Demon’s Physique. There, for twenty years………….”
Jin Yeong-in talked about the things he had experienced, and the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, like the eye of a typhoon, just quietly listened to Jin Yeong-in's story.
“……After that, when I opened my eyes, I had returned to twenty years ago.”
“Yes, so it was.”
“So will you kill me?”
Jin Yeong-in asked the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
“If you intend to do so, please have mercy and end it quickly without pain.”
“…….”
“It's unfair enough that I died while being exploited by the Righteous Heavenly Alliance in my past life, but now that I've defected to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Cult Leader is trying to kill me. What's the point of living such a dog-like life? I don't want to struggle anymore.”
Jin Yeong-in vented his resentment.
As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and trembled with rage, becoming thoroughly poisoned with anger.
“Now I understand. How far you have come, and how you came to have a connection with me and reached our cult.”
“…….”
“I also understand the reason for the anger and desire for revenge you hold. Yes, having gone through such hardships, how tired you must have been. Though the world is vast, there was no place for you to rest your body or your heart.”
A lump formed in his throat, and emotions welled up.
He had never even imagined that he could receive comfort from someone.
“You have done well to come. No matter what anyone says, you are a member of our cult.”
“C-Cult Leader.”
“What is meant to happen, will happen. Your regression is also such. In the end, you have arrived, so isn't our cult the place where you should be?”
“Ah.”
“Therefore, only move forward. Your future actions will become the true history.”
The Iron-Blooded Demonic God's words were tinged with a distant dizziness, and their meaning was impossible to fathom.
However, it was clear that it was a word of blessing, so Jin Yeong-in bowed his head and respectfully paid his respects to the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
“Come to think of it, I heard you have made a great contribution. You saved many people.”
“It just happened that way as I struggled to survive.”
“Even so, it does not mean it is not a contribution. As the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, I pay my respects to the merits you have established. Our cult has not yet been able to repay its debt to your master, and now we are indebted to you, his disciple.”
“I-It is nothing.”
“However, I will postpone the discussion of merits and rewards for a little while. So go back, finish the Blood Wolf Corps process, and then come back. You might think it's a meaningless time, but it's a process you must pass to be recognized as a martial artist of our cult.”
“Yes, your Holiness.”
Jin Yeong-in was once again impressed by the Iron-Blooded Demonic God.
There was no way the Iron-Blooded Demonic God would not know that the Blood Wolf Corps process was meaningless to Jin Yeong-in.
Nevertheless, telling him to complete the Blood Wolf Corps and come back must be to establish the law of the cult.
To adhere to principles even though she was an existence who had reached a state unbound by any law or principle in the world.
Jin Yeong-in thought that with that aspect alone, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God was more than qualified to reign as the supreme leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“Pardon my impertinence, but may I say a word.”
“You may.”
When Jin Yeong-in asked cautiously, the Iron-Blooded Demonic God readily nodded her head.
“Perhaps…….”
Jin Yeong-in told the Iron-Blooded Demonic God what he was thinking.
* * *
“Hoo.”
As Jin Yeong-in left the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons, he felt a great sense of relief.
Perhaps because he had confessed his biggest secret that he could not tell anyone, it felt as if he had been to a bamboo forest.
Moreover, despite his Heavenly Demon’s Physique being exposed, nothing had happened, so it felt as if the anxiety that had settled in his heart had been cleanly washed away.
Of course, he had no idea what the Iron-Blooded Demonic God's intentions were.
Why she had said that she had no choice but to kill the Heavenly Demon’s Physique…….
‘I’ll find out eventually.’
Jin Yeong-in decided to think so.
At least he didn't have to worry about losing his life at the hands of the Iron-Blooded Demonic God, and that alone was enough.
“You’re back.”
Danmok Cheong greeted Jin Yeong-in as he left the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons.
“Yes, I’m back.”
“You look well.”
“Do I? Haha.”
“It seems something good happened.”
“Something good. Yes, something good happened.”
“Did the Cult Leader grant you a great reward?”
“I cannot say.”
“Umm.”
“Do we have to go back to the Blood Wolf Corps right away?”
“No, we don't.”
At Jin Yeong-in's question, Danmok Cheong shook his head.
“Young Master Jin's outing was granted to have an audience with her, so there is no set period. No one will have a problem if you return a few hours late.”
“Then let's have a drink in the market and go back.”
“Pardon?”
“It's a bit of a waste to give up this fresh air after so long, isn't it? There are still forty days left in the training period.”
“Are you saying you want to skip class, Young Master Jin?”
Danmok Cheong said as if surprised.
He had not expected that Jin Yeong-in, who was the most exemplary trainee in the Blood Wolf Corps, would say that he would deliberately return late and skip training.
“I, I like to skip class.”
“Pardon?”
“Since I’m a defector, there are many eyes on me, so I have no choice but to work harder.”
“Ah.”
“But that's not the case now, is it? Let's hang out for a couple of hours and then go in.”
The expression on Jin Yeong-in's face as he said this was brighter than any Danmok Cheong had ever seen.
* * *
About forty days passed since then.
Time had passed, and the Blood Wolves had only one day left in the hundred-day Blood Wolf Corps process.
The last day of the Blood Wolf Corps.
“We will now begin the qi circulation of the Reverse Heaven Heart Art.”
Yi Mu-baek gathered the Blood Wolves in the middle of the Extreme Land and instructed them to achieve the Small Heavenly Cycle, the final stage of initiation into the Reverse Heaven Heart Art.
“Before we begin, write your wills and say your goodbyes to the comrades you have shared joys and sorrows with. You may never see them again after today.”
The reason Yi Mu-baek said this was because the Reverse Heaven Heart Art was that dangerous.
The success rate of the Blood Wolves' Small Heavenly Cycle was at best fifty percent.
Even that was thanks to the fact that the Blood Wolf Corps instructors could professionally guide them in the Reverse Heaven Heart Art; in a normal case, the probability of achieving the Small Heavenly Cycle was only about thirty percent.
After today, half of them would die, become cripples, become madmen, or become demonified and never return to their former selves.
It was perhaps a curse, an original sin, and also a destiny that heaven bestowed upon those who tried to learn demonic arts, and it was something that could not be avoided.
Given the circumstances, it was not strange for Yi Mu-baek to not only have them write their wills but also have them say their final goodbyes to their comrades.
At this, the Blood Wolves wrote their wills with heavy hearts and said their goodbyes to the comrades they had trained with for the past hundred days.
“Cut the jinxing talk and let’s see each other after this is over.”
“You absolutely must not die.”
“I’d rather die than live as a demonic ghost. That would be better.”
An hour later.
The Blood Wolves sat cross-legged to achieve the Small Heavenly Cycle of the Reverse Heaven Heart Art.
“May martial fortune be with…….”
Just as Yi Mu-baek was saying that.
“Stop.”
The Great Guardian Yi Gyu appeared and stopped Yi Mu-baek.
“I greet the Great Guardian. But, what brings you here……”
“The Cult Leader has commanded that the Blood Wolves of this batch learn a new heart art from now on.”
“Pardon?”
Yi Mu-baek's eyes widened as if to ask what he meant.
A new heart art?
It was no exaggeration to say that the Reverse Heaven Heart Art was the foundation of all demonic arts, the most basic of the basics.
If the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which claimed to lead all demonic practitioners in the world, did not teach the Reverse Heaven Heart Art, then what would they teach?
“Here is an edict sent by the Cult Leader, so receive it.”
“As you command.”
After performing a full prostration, Yi Mu-baek carefully unwrapped the silk cloth wrapped around the edict as if it were a treasure.
“Th-This is.”
Soon, Yi Mu-baek's hand trembled as he read down the edict.
The content of the edict was so unconventional and shocking that even Yi Mu-baek, who had been through thick and thin, could not maintain his composure.
“……This heart art was created by Jin Yeong-in by supplementing and improving the Reverse Heaven Heart Art.”
Yi Mu-baek began to read aloud from the middle part of the edict.
“As a result of my personal inspection…… its effectiveness and stability are incomparably superior to the Reverse Heaven Heart Art…… there is no reason not to teach it to those who wish to be initiated into demonic arts…….”
Around the time Yi Mu-baek read that passage.
‘I, I want to die.’
Jin Yeong-in just wanted to bite his tongue.
His face was burning up from receiving the gazes of everyone in this place, from the instructors to the Blood Wolves.