The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 109

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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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The Introverted Heavenly Demon Episode 109
King of the Black Path
“I am delighted to stand before the people of Chengdu in this manner.”
The boy’s voice brimmed with confidence.
Speaking before such a vast crowd, he showed not the slightest hesitation or discomfort.
Yet what was remarkable extended far beyond the boy’s composure alone.
“I am Baek Yeon, Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect.”
The moment the words “Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect” left the boy’s lips, the gathered crowd seemed to convulse as if struck by a tempest.
Some shoulders jerked in shock; others let out gasps of astonishment.
The shockwave rippled outward from the boy’s immediate vicinity, reaching in an instant even those villagers standing at the farthest edges of the assembly.
Yet the most astounding revelation was yet to come.
“We pay our respects to our leader!”
Wi Seung Gak, who had just introduced this Minor Sect Leader to the crowd, bellowed with such force his voice seemed to split the air.
Following his lead, some fifty Black Path members opened their mouths in unison to echo his cry.
“We pay our respects to our leader!!!”
A roar so thunderous it felt as though it might shatter eardrums.
Immediately after, Wi Seung Gak dropped to one knee and bowed his head toward the boy.
Then fifty Black Path members performed the identical motion, kneeling before the boy in perfect synchronization.
Thud!
The sight of fifty Black Path members kneeling as one toward a single point was a spectacle rarely witnessed.
To orchestrate such a display in a public place before gathered crowds was deliberate and calculated.
It was a proclamation to all of Tianxia that the Black Path had sworn complete submission to a single person.
And that person of absolute allegiance was a boy who appeared to be scarcely twenty years old.
“Leader?”
“That boy… no, that person has become the new leader of Pal Cheon Am Bang?”
“But didn’t he just say he was the Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect?”
With fifty Black Path members kneeling simultaneously between the Minor Sect Leader and the villagers, the people of Chengdu could now observe the Minor Sect Leader’s form with greater clarity.
Standing motionless, his expression utterly unchanged, he gazed down upon the Black Path members before him.
The Il-Wol Divine Sect—a religious organization and martial faction, a singular force that nonetheless stood against the Martial Alliance, a coalition of Kangho’s Orthodox Martial Sects, in fierce competition for dominance.
As Minor Sect Leader of such an organization, he was the successor to the current Sect Leader, known in this age as Cheon Ma.
It was no exaggeration to say he would become the greatest power holder in Kangho in the not-distant future.
The boy’s bearing seemed to embody the very power and might of the Il-Wol Divine Sect itself.
The way he gazed down upon the Black Path members kneeling before him.
As though authority were so thoroughly internalized within him that he had possessed it naturally since birth.
He was the very image of one born to command.
Now the Minor Sect Leader began to speak before the assembled people.
“Those of you with keen perception have already discerned this: the Black Path of Chengdu has pledged allegiance to the Il-Wol Divine Sect.”
The Minor Sect Leader’s voice, still bearing traces of youth, carried with it a profound and resonant inner force.
Moreover, something beyond mere inner force alone seemed to captivate the hearts of all who listened.
“Furthermore, I myself shall become the direct leader of Pal Cheon Am Bang and govern them. Thus, henceforth, the teachings of the Il-Wol Divine Sect and the words of I, your leader, shall be the law that all gang lords here must follow as they would their own lives.”
In short, it was a declaration that since Pal Cheon Am Bang had fallen into my hands, the Black Blade Gang members of the Il-Wol Divine Sect must obey my commands as Minor Sect Leader with absolute loyalty.
Those with sharp perception naturally grasped it then.
What it meant that the severed head of Ha Mun Sung, who had just died, was displayed before everyone.
There was no way the Black Blade Gang would acknowledge the Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect as their leader without reason.
It was certain that this Minor Sect Leader had killed Ha Mun Sung and seized his position.
At such a thought, people shuddered once more.
The Black Blade Gang alone had been difficult to contend with, and now the Il-Wol Divine Sect was taking that position.
Since the group called the Demonic Cult in the world had seized control of the Black Blade Gang, life would become increasingly harsh from now on.
But then.
“From this moment forward, those who oppress or extort honest citizens and steal their wealth, those who exercise force against ordinary people who have not learned martial arts regardless of reason, those men who brazenly harass women regardless of whether they are married or not, regardless of social status—shall be punished severely according to the teachings of our sect. The death of Ha Mun Sung, the former Bangjoo, shall serve as an example.”
As people heard the proclamation of the new leader of Pal Cheon Am Bang, they doubted their own ears.
Had they misheard?
Or was this person trying to deceive the common folk with pleasant words?
It was said that the Il-Wol Divine Sect often proselytized to ordinary people with strange and peculiar rhetoric….
“What in the world is this scheme? Are you plotting to spread the Demonic Cult throughout Chengdu?”
Indeed, one villager man shouted out boldly without fear.
Though one might have expected anger at such an impertinent question, the Minor Sect Leader gazed at the man who had asked and replied in a gentle voice.
“I have no intention of forcing the teachings of the Il-Wol Divine Sect upon the Black Blade factions or the people of Chengdu. Nay, even if there were those who wished to convert to our sect, I would not accept them now.”
The voice was gentle, yet it carried an authority that none dared defy.
“I merely wish to practice the teachings of our sect—to help the suffering, protect the weak, and enable the common folk of Kangho to cultivate their own strength so they may forge their own futures. Furthermore….”
The Minor Sect Leader’s words continued.
But this time, they were spoken not as the Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect, but as the new leader of Chengdu’s Black Blade Gang.
“The Sea Sand Gang, Medicine Cauldron Gang, and Wooden Horse Gang belonging to Pal Cheon Am Bang shall henceforth operate under the protection of the Il-Wol Divine Sect.”
This statement carried an entirely different magnitude of impact compared to the previous words, which could have been dismissed as mere rhetoric.
It meant that the Il-Wol Divine Sect would directly manage the government salt monopoly controlled by the authorities, as well as medicinal herbs, horses, and carts.
This was also a declaration to directly oppose the government’s rule and the Righteous Martial Arts Society, which conspired with the authorities to oppress the common folk.
“For now, it is limited to Chengdu, but it shall not be long. When the Il-Wol Divine Sect reorganizes the order of Kangho, all of Kangho shall transform into a new world. I promise you—a world of free, honest, and mutually supportive common folk shall come.”
Only then did the people understand why the Minor Sect Leader had stepped forward before them this day.
Why the Il-Wol Divine Sect, which had stood against the renowned orthodox sects of Kangho and drawn a line even with the Black Blade Gang, had incorporated Chengdu’s Black Blade into its fold.
There was nothing strange about it.
For that was what it had meant from the beginning to devour the Black Blade.
What the Black Blade factions had done originally, the Il-Wol Divine Sect would now do.
This was a declaration that the Il-Wol Divine Sect, which had lurked in the shadows cultivating its strength, would now reach forth into Kangho in earnest.
Even if it meant direct collision with the authorities and the Righteous Martial Arts Society in the process, it would no longer fear.
As the Minor Sect Leader’s words ended, a suffocating silence descended upon the crowd.
And then.
“King of the Black Blade!”
A chant begun by someone among the Black Blade members spread like wildfire.
“King of the Black Blade!”
“King of the Black Blade!”
Meanwhile, among the common people unrelated to the Black Path, such a cry erupted.
“A world for the common folk!”
It was a shout from a middle-aged man mixed among the general crowd.
A few perceptive individuals recognized that the one who cried out was Yun Tae Baek, the Ho Rim Pyo Lord and master of Chengdu’s largest escort agency.
“A world for the common folk!”
Soon the same cry erupted from the people in succession, and the shout spread across the entire crowd in an instant.
Everyone was shouting with one voice.
“A world for the common folk!!!”
Though it still sounded like a dream, the common folk of Chengdu felt their hearts burst open with exhilaration simply by being able to cry out like this.
The Minor Sect Leader of the Il-Wol Divine Sect who appeared overnight, brought the Palcheon Secret Chamber to its knees, and became the king of the Black Path.
Watching his confident and dignified bearing, it was not strange at all to hold the belief that the day when these words shouted now would become reality would surely come.
“Minor Sect Leader.”
An unusual atmosphere emanated from Baek So Cheong’s voice.
Turning my head slightly to look at her, it was not just her voice.
Furrowed brows, slightly knitted eyebrows, tightly pressed lips.
She, who would normally only pout or puff her cheeks even when I said the harshest things, was now genuinely angry.
“My lord. Then I shall take a look around the surroundings and return.”
….
Young Ho Bin, standing nearby, sensed that her mood was unusual and spoke thus before quickening his pace and moving away from me.
Whether before or now, I must acknowledge his perceptiveness.
Baek So Cheong did not even glance at Young Ho Bin and approached me, standing at my side.
Then she asked me in a cold tone.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
Her emotions were fully conveyed in this brief statement.
‘She’s genuinely angry.’
It was not incomprehensible.
She had suffered hardship after being captured by those Black Path dogs while I was momentarily careless, so it was natural for her to be angry.
“I never thought Ha Mun Sung Bangjoo would move so quickly. I’m sorry….”
“What are you talking about right now?”
But Baek So Cheong cut off my words before I could even finish apologizing.
It was a reaction questioning what nonsense I was spouting.
“Are you angry because of being captured by Ha Mun Sung and Wi Seung Gak?”
“That matter is… done. They didn’t treat me disrespectfully. Rather, I’m sorry to the Minor Sect Leader. Besides, you came right away and rescued me, so let’s forget about it.”
So she wasn’t angry about being captured and taken prisoner by the Black Path members.
Then.
“You think it was reckless of me to gather the people of Chengdu and say that the Il-Wol Divine Sect sided with the Black Path.”
“…?”
“You think I made too great a decision without receiving permission from the Sect Leader.”
“Minor Sect Leader….”

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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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