The Heavenly Demon Destroys the Tower - Chapter 97

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 97
The heart of the Ten Thousand Demon Hall had been barren save for Seong-hwa and the Heavenly Flame.
There was a residential district for the lowest-ranked believers to the north, though even that amounted to nothing more than wooden shacks.
‘Stone paving everywhere.’
Around the center where Seong-hwa burned,
smooth stone flooring had been laid out in all directions.
It didn’t seem like work that could be finished in just a week.
And beyond that—
‘Another building’s gone up.’
One was a circular structure erected directly beside Seong-hwa.
The snow-white walls emanated a reddish aura, lending the building an otherworldly quality,
though it wasn’t particularly large—just spacious enough to comfortably fit half a dozen people inside.
When Lee Kang-han stepped inside,
[Heavenly Fire Altar Lv.1]
A structure from the earliest days of the Celestial Demon Religion, where offerings were made to sustain the Sacred Flame.
Greatly increases the intensity of the Sacred Flame.
A description for a building he’d never constructed materialized before his eyes.
‘The Heavenly Fire Altar, then.’
So it was a place where offerings were once made.
But there was no mention of actually making sacrifices—only that the Flame’s intensity would grow.
‘A reinforcement effect with no cost at all? That’s quite the building.’
Lee Kang-han toured the interior of the Altar
but, finding nothing particularly noteworthy, stepped back outside.
Walking toward the center where Seong-hwa burned,
a crackling sound rose up—
white flames burned with far greater intensity than before, catching his eye.
Last time, the believers had weakened its power,
but in the span of a week, the flame had grown noticeably stronger.
“This isn’t just the Faint Flame anymore, is it?”
Recalling Seong-hwa’s current stage as the Faint Flame,
Lee Kang-han spoke aloud.
Ding.
[Welcome, my lord.]
A message from Seong-hwa appeared before his eyes.
“The fire’s grown stronger?”
[Yes. In the past week, the Celestial Demon Religion has achieved great progress. Vast power descended from you, allowing us to recover the Flame’s intensity and construct the Heavenly Fire Altar. Moreover, this has enabled us to distribute tasks far more efficiently among our lowest-ranked believers.]
So as the Flame grew stronger, new structures like the Altar were built automatically,
and the lowest-ranked believers could be worked harder in turn.
“So that’s why the whole ground’s been paved with stone—thanks to this better task distribution?”
[Yes. We still lack much, but we are working to cultivate an appearance befitting the main temple of the Celestial Demon Religion.]
“But this ‘vast power’ descending from me—is that because the Demon Heavenly Blood Formation was absorbed into my body? Is that the reason?”
[Yes. That, combined with the advancement of your Cheonma Divine Arts, has greatly strengthened the Flame.]
“I see…”
[At this rate, the Sacred Flame will soon advance beyond the Faint Flame stage to the next level.]
So my growth in Cheonma abilities directly impacts Seong-hwa as well.
Lee Kang-han nodded,
when suddenly a memory surfaced—that ‘star’ he’d seen before.
‘Does Seong-hwa know anything about that star?’
The ‘star’ he’d glimpsed while cultivating the Cheonma Divine Arts within the Demon Heavenly Blood Formation.
Lee Kang-han asked Seong-hwa if she knew anything about it,
[I’m afraid I don’t understand precisely what you mean. However…]
“However?”
[I’m not sure if I should express it this way, but when I perceive it, I feel… a deep longing.]
Longing.
From Seong-hwa?
“You feel longing for that terrifying star?”
[Yes. Even I don’t fully understand why.]
“Hmm.”
Had Seong-hwa always been this emotional?
From their earlier exchanges, she’d seemed businesslike, simply applying Root-Severing Punishment as needed without fuss.
‘The Demon Heavenly Blood Formation must be affecting me.’
With that thought, Lee Kang-han turned his attention to his original reason for coming here.
He asked about the ‘Occupancy Reservation.’
One moment.
[I apologize. I have no information regarding the Tower.]
Seong-hwa specialized in the Celestial Demon Religion and the Demon Realm Territory.
When it came to Tower-related information, she was ignorant.
“Then do you know anything about the Priestess currently active? She branded a demon mark on my chest.”
[I have no information about the Priestess currently active either.]
And regarding Yu Do-a, the Priestess herself, Seong-hwa had no particular knowledge.
Instead.
[Should I summon the lowest-ranking believer, Cheon Ga-hyun?]
“Cheon Ga-hyun?”
She who had claimed descent from the Cheon Clan, the bloodline of the Heavenly Demon.
Cheon Ga-hyun, who had tried to seize the Celestial Demon Religion in the Demon Realm Territory.
She might know something, if anyone did.
“Very well. Let’s ask her.”
[Understood.]
After Lee Kang-han gave the order and a short time had passed.
“……Why have you summoned me, my lord?”
Cheon Ga-hyun walked forward with an expressionless face.
Though she spoke with formal respect—perhaps because Seong-hwa had inflicted the Root-Severing Punishment on her many times recently—
A venom still flickered faintly across her features.
“I encountered the Priestess in this realm. Do you know anything about her?”
“The Priestess? You say you saw the Priestess……?”
“Yes.”
At Lee Kang-han’s question, surprise flashed across Cheon Ga-hyun’s face.
“That cannot be. The Priestess’s bloodline could not possibly still exist…….”
She shook her head firmly, denying it.
“Why not? The Cheon Clan exists, so why not the Priestess?”
“The Priestess is a traitor to the Celestial Demon Religion!”
“What? The Priestess is a traitor?”
“Yes. It was the Priestess herself who led the Celestial Demon Religion to ruin. She brought the Religion to destruction and burned her own body with flame……the Priestess’s bloodline has long since been severed.”
So the Priestess had destroyed the Celestial Demon Religion.
Lee Kang-han furrowed his brow at this unexpected revelation.
‘I simply cannot believe it.’
The last Priestess of the Celestial Demon Religion was the ghost-Priestess Cheon Se-ran.
She who had helped Lee Kang-han greatly, calling him lord, lord.
A traitor, she was?
He could not fathom that she would commit betrayal.
“How do you know that?”
“The Priestess is the Cheon Clan’s sworn enemy! Our lineage has been taught across generations never to forget—the Religion’s nemesis, the Priestess. Had it not been for her, the Celestial Demon Religion would have flourished eternal…….”
“Is that so? But the last Priestess was also of the Cheon Clan, wasn’t she?”
“What—what?! What nonsense are you spouting!”
At Lee Kang-han’s words.
Cheon Ga-hyun, who had been forcing herself to be respectful, suddenly shrieked.
“If you mean to insult me, kill me instead!”
“She won’t believe the truth either way.”
“Truth?! How dare you utter such drivel—that the Priestess, our thousand-year nemesis, belongs to the Cheon Clan!”
Cheon Ga-hyun’s eyes rolled back in her frenzy.
[To show such disrespect to you, my lord……shall I apply the Root-Severing Punishment?]
“Never mind. Just send her home.”
[Understood. I shall administer discipline there.]
“Take back what you said this instant, my lord——!”
That the Priestess was of the Cheon Clan—it was such a tender point.
Cheon Ga-hyun kept screaming until the very end.
Whoosh——!
Pure white flames erupted, consuming her entire body in an instant.
Her form vanished in moments.
“You didn’t kill her, did you?”
“Yes. I sent them home.”
“Well done.”
Originally, his reason for coming to the Ten Thousand Demon Hall was to learn about “Occupancy Reservation.”
But somehow he’d ended up hearing unexpected news instead.
Lee Kang-han recalled his original purpose for seeking out the Ten Thousand Demon Hall and decided to find the residents there.
‘Karana’s at the Orc Shaman’s Altar.’
Karana usually stayed near Seong-hwa, but
since she’d brought in an orc from the Gersh Empire a week ago,
it seemed she was hard at work attempting evolutions at the Orc Shaman’s Altar.
She was deeply focused, so it would be rude to interrupt.
‘I should ask that one first.’
Lee Kang-han’s gaze
turned toward the luminous sword near Seong-hwa.
As he approached the blade,
a soft whisper emanated from within.
The Heavenly Sword Spirit emerged, eyes heavy with drowsiness.
* * *
“Master… it’s been a while. Haven’t you been entering the Tower lately…?”
“I was trapped somewhere for a week and couldn’t go. I’ll have to start again tomorrow.”
“Ah… you hadn’t been summoning me much, so I thought… you’d switched to a different weapon….”
The Heavenly Sword Spirit nodded at Lee Kang-han’s words, then began to retreat back into the blade.
“Wait. I need to ask you something.”
“Yes? Yawn… I’m so sleepy….”
The Heavenly Sword Spirit yawned and rubbed its eyes.
“An ‘Occupancy Reservation’ was placed on the Tower of Humanity today.”
At the mention of Occupancy Reservation,
the Spirit’s eyes widened.
“Occupancy Reservation… has it been formally integrated into the Universe….”
“Yeah. Do you know what this means?”
“I do know… but there’s a Tower Geas preventing me from speaking about it.”
Even after formal integration, the Geas still kept it silent.
Just as Lee Kang-han lamented the lack of useful information,
“But Occupancy Reservation… how many races have placed bids?”
“Nine from Reserve Tier, nine from Prime Tier. So eighteen races total.”
“Eighteen races…? Wow. Quite popular… humanity must look like complete suckers to them….”
The Heavenly Sword Spirit clicked its tongue as Lee Kang-han mentioned that every race except the top Prime Tier had placed reservations.
He’d sensed it when the other races began competing to place their reservations,
but humanity truly did seem to be perceived as the weakest of all races.
“From now on, Master… please have the government push harder across the nation….”
“Push what? Me?”
“Yes… make them bring out all the best swords… at least S-Rank or higher….”
“You said you liked the Heavenly Sword.”
“Even the most delicious food gets boring if you eat it all the time….”
He’d wondered why the Spirit kept urging him to push the government,
and it turned out the Spirit simply wanted to swap into better blades once in a while.
“Well then… I should get some sleep….”
Unable to gather proper information about the Occupancy matter due to the Tower Geas,
the Heavenly Sword Spirit retreated back into the blade.
‘Getting information about the Occupancy from the Ten Thousand Demon Hall’s summons will be difficult.’
The Tower’s Geas.
Even after formal integration into the Universe, it still held sway.
Given this situation,
Lee Kang-han decided to simply stop by the Black Market to recover some items and head back.
A portal crackled open before him.
As he stepped into the Black Market,
“Celestial Demon! Ten Thousand Demons bow!”
the Goblin Clan Chief performed his customary bow.
“Yeah. You’ve been well?”
“Yes! Ah, Master! With the TP you entrusted me with last time, I’ve procured some high-Rank items!”
The Goblin Clan Chief then led Lee Kang-han toward the warehouse.
The items he presented were a B-rank spear and shield.
Lee Kang-han examined one of the pieces.
[Hero’s Spear — Human Race Exclusive]
Rank: B (B+ when equipped by humans)
A long spear characterized by a sturdy blade and well-balanced shaft.
It was wielded by a human hero whose name has been lost to history.
When the race ‘human’ equips it, thrusting speed and accuracy improve significantly.
B-rank human-exclusive items, each bearing the epithet ‘hero.’
“Since B-rank items have demand even among non-humans, the price has risen considerably.”
“Other races can equip them too, can’t they?”
“Yes. The drawback is that the rank-upgrade effect doesn’t apply, and the equipment size doesn’t adjust to the race, but…… at B-rank, many still use them despite those limitations.”
Demand exists among other races for something of B-rank quality.
The Goblin Clan Chief had assessed each piece at 50,000 TP.
Even accounting for use by other races, it was a reasonable price.
‘At B+, I’ll be left with much more than the tenfold margin from last time.’
Lee Kang-han smiled with satisfaction and placed the items in his inventory.
“This time I’ll entrust you with 1 million TP.”
“Yes, yes! Understood!”
As the amount he was entrusting jumped from 100,000 to 1 million TP.
The Goblin Clan Chief asked carefully.
“Then…… next time, should I try purchasing items of a higher rank than B? Or should I adjust the quantity of stock?”
“Hmm…… prioritize higher-rank items. If something worthwhile comes up, I might equip it myself.”
“Understood!”
Lee Kang-han had decided to prioritize quality over quantity.
If suitable equipment appeared, he would wear it rather than sell it.
After finishing his instructions to the clan chief.
Lee Kang-han’s attention was drawn to the sights of the Black Market anew.
“There are noticeably more goblins in the market.”
“Ah. They suddenly increased today. Could it be…… that we officially joined the Universe?”
“Yeah, that happened today. Is there a connection between that and the market becoming livelier?”
“Well…….”
The Goblin Clan Chief scratched his head.
Then he continued.
“The newly arrived merchants have been making bets, saying that a new race entered Universe 101, wagering on how many months it will survive.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. They asked me to create a betting space, so I’ve been setting up the environment for it…….”
These goblin merchants.
They’d come all this way only to gamble, not conduct trade.
And betting on how many months humanity would last…….
“Let me go take a look.”
“That…… yes. Understood. I’ll show you the way.”
The Goblin Clan Chief, who had hesitated briefly, led the way.
Soon a gambling den set up in the open came into view.
Goblin merchants gathered there in greater numbers than anywhere else.
“Heheheh…… we need more odds for the bets to work!”
“Let’s add a 1-month and 2-month option too!”
As Lee Kang-han listened to the merchants talk and moved closer.
On an enormous wooden scoreboard.
[Universe 101 New Race ‘Humanity’ — Expulsion Probability]
[Extinction within 3 months – 94%]
[Extinction within 6 months – 5%]
[Survival – 1%]
‘Within 3 months?’
The consensus that humanity would perish within 3 months.
Held an overwhelming majority.
The Demon Lord Shatters the Tower (Serialized)
Author | Yeom Bi
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyung
Published by | J-Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 204, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, Daelung Post Tower 1st)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ www.jayplemedia.com
© Yeom Bi 2025
※ This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder, and the content may not be used in any form or manner without permission from the company and the author.
Violation of this may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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