The Introverted Heavenly Demon - Chapter 3

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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 003
Baek Yeon
“Song Mu Gyeong, the Sam Chong Gwan, respectfully greets the Minor Sect Leader.”
A middle-aged man dressed in gray robes approached me and offered a bow.
The position of Sam Chong Gwan entailed overseeing all the maidservants and servants who attended to the Minor Sect Leader, as well as managing the affairs of Jeokwol Palace.
Perhaps this man was familiar to Baek Yeon, my body’s original owner, but without his memories, this was as good as a first meeting for me.
“Listen well. I have something to discuss with the Minor Sect Leader. Everyone else, leave the chamber.”
Song Sam Chong Gwan ushered out all the maidservants and servants who had been in the chamber.
It seemed he had something urgent to tell me alone.
He began speaking in a gentle voice.
“It has already been seven years since I first served the Minor Sect Leader. It was shortly after the Sect Leader’s first wife, your mother, passed away.”
“…Yes, it has been that long.”
“When you were appointed as Minor Sect Leader a year ago, I was overjoyed beyond measure. At that moment, I vowed to dedicate my life to our sect and to you.”
“I have always been grateful for your service.”
Without memories of Baek Yeon, I knew little of what kind of person Sam Chong Gwan was, or even what sort of child Baek Yeon had been.
Yet his gentle demeanor toward me, and the inexplicable sense of ease that settled over me after meeting him, suggested something.
I found myself thinking that Baek Yeon must have relied heavily on this man—that he was someone close to him.
But then.
“Minor Sect Leader, forgive my presumption, but please listen carefully to what I have to say.”
Sam Chong Gwan gazed into empty space for a long moment, as if recalling the past or wrestling with profound doubt, before continuing slowly.
“The Minor Sect Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect must be violent, sometimes cruel, a demon without blood or tears. This is the most essential quality for a successor to lead our sect.”
Of course, I understood this well enough.
I could see it in how the servants treated Baek Yeon.
“I am well aware.”
But then.
Immediately after I answered with an awkward expression, Sam Chong Gwan’s eyes deepened with something ineffable.
And in a grave voice, he spoke these words:
“…I will not mince words. Step down from the position of Minor Sect Leader.”
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
“What did you say?”
Yet Sam Chong Gwan repeated himself, his expression and voice now carrying an almost solemn weight.
Each word was measured and unwavering, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
“You lack the qualifications to lead the Sun and Moon Divine Sect. If you truly care for our sect’s future, relinquish your position as Minor Sect Leader.”
“What in the world are you saying?”
I still knew little of the Sun and Moon Divine Sect.
Yet for Sam Chong Gwan to speak to me, the Sect Leader’s successor, in such a manner—no matter how I considered it, it was far from normal.
He must have been close to Baek Yeon, so why would he do this?
Before I could even respond, Song Sam Chong Gwan continued.
“I have given this much thought. Why the Minor Sect Leader deliberately feigns such a vicious nature.”
‘You think I was acting?’
Song Sam Chong Gwan’s atmosphere was growing increasingly strange.
From his tone and gaze, I sensed something—a burning fervor of some kind.
“Seven years. That is how long I have served the Minor Sect Leader.”
“Sam Chong Gwan.”
“Others might have been deceived, but not I.”
‘The violent and vicious Baek Yeon that everyone around us witnessed… was all of that merely an act?’
It was a difficult truth to accept.
Yet Sam Chong Gwan, with that solemn face and voice, spoke to me once more.
“The Minor Sect Leader is a weak human being.”
The moment those words reached my ears, it felt as though my head had been struck by a hammer.
“Even now, with a character so timid he cannot even meet my gaze… how could he ever become the Sect Leader and guide our sect?”
Strictly speaking, Song Sam Chong Gwan’s words were not directed at me, but at the Baek Yeon of the past.
Yet it felt as though something sharp had pierced my heart.
The more I realized this man understood Baek Yeon well, the deeper the wound cut.
“I know the truth. The Minor Sect Leader fears interacting with others. He is a fragile soul who prefers solitude within his chamber. From childhood, he deliberately performed the role of a crueler man to conceal his own weakness of spirit.”
“Sam Chong Gwan….”
“It was a most convincing performance. Most of our followers likely never realized the Minor Sect Leader’s true nature. They believe him to be cruel and violent—perfectly suited to become the future Sect Leader.”
“….”
“But such deception is only possible because the Minor Sect Leader is still young. How much longer do you think you can deceive everyone?”
‘Ah… I see now.’
Listening to Sam Chong Gwan’s words, I understood.
‘A character so timid he cannot meet my gaze….’
‘One who fears interacting with others….’
‘A fragile soul who prefers solitude within his chamber.’
Baek Yeon was, like me, an introvert.
Or rather, in a world where such a concept did not exist, Baek Yeon was simply a ‘weak human being.’
Originally a virtuous soul, Baek Yeon had survived in the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, where ‘evil’ equated to ‘strength’….
By concealing his own weakness, which he himself despised, he had wrapped himself in ‘evil’ as armor.
Lacking the courage to reveal who he truly was, he had deliberately performed the role of a violent and cruel Minor Sect Leader.
“Our sect bears the sacred mission to drive out those so-called Righteous Martial Arts Factions from Tianxia and unify Kangho under our doctrine. What our sect requires is overwhelming power and a demon king who wields absolute martial prowess. Should a weak human like the Minor Sect Leader become Sect Leader, our great cause could never be achieved.”
As I stood unable to respond, Sam Chong Gwan spoke once more, his voice heavy with finality.
“By this time tomorrow, you must decide. I trust you will judge wisely.”
With those words, Song Sam Chong Gwan departed from my chamber.
His argument and demand were unmistakable.
I possessed no qualification to become the future Sect Leader, and I was to voluntarily relinquish my position as Minor Sect Leader.
My mind rapidly organized the situation I now faced.
‘If everything that man said were true….’
No—it likely was true.
I possessed no memories of Baek Yeon, the child who was the original owner of this body.
Yet I was certain that no one could understand that child better than I could.
‘This child is exactly like me….’
What becomes of an introvert who reacts with extreme sensitivity to others’ responses, only to be rejected, despised, and ignored repeatedly by those around them?
Desperate to avoid further pain, they begin to reject and push away others of their own volition.
Trapped behind walls of their own making, they lose the strength to break free.
I lived my previous life that way, for however brief it was.
And Baek Yeon, I suspect, was not so different.
‘His mother passed away when he was young, didn’t she.’
From childhood, no one had shown him warmth. After suffering wound upon wound, he had ultimately sealed his heart against the world.
Yet that was not what truly astonished me.
‘To think he could conduct himself this way at such a tender age.’
Despite his youth, Baek Yeon understood precisely how to act in order to survive.
He knew that disappointing his father meant not only losing his claim to the Sect Leader’s position, but losing his very life in this world.
So he had deliberately masked his true nature, performing instead as ruthless and cruel.
That performance had convinced most of the faithful that Baek Yeon truly was a savage child.
Only one person harbored suspicion—the Sam Chong Gwan.
The fortunate part was that Baek Yeon was still young.
If I presented a different image from this point forward, perhaps I could still salvage the situation….
‘Wait.’
Was it truly only the Sam Chong Gwan?
‘I grow increasingly doubtful of your worthiness.’
‘Prove to me that you possess the qualifications of a Minor Sect Leader.’
Recalling the Sect Leader’s words anew sent a chill down my spine.
I had nearly overlooked something crucial.
It was inconceivable that someone of the Sect Leader’s stature would remain ignorant of his own Minor Sect Leader’s true nature.
Especially not when that person was his own eldest son.
In that moment, I realized this problem extended far beyond Song Mu Gyeong alone.
No—there was a far more critical issue at hand.
‘The Sect Leader suspects me as well. Or rather, even if he doesn’t….’
I had briefly considered reporting this matter to the Sect Leader and having him deal with the Sam Chong Gwan.
But that would have been foolish.
‘I must handle this alone.’
A long breath escaped me.
I drew in a deep breath to calm my racing nerves, steadying myself.
My gaze naturally drifted to a spot beside the Minor Sect Leader’s desk.
There lay a long sword that appeared to be the Minor Sect Leader’s regular weapon.

* * *
“There is an urgent matter regarding the Minor Sect Leader that I must report.”
Baek Ryung Hou’s aide entered the Sect Leader’s Hall and began his report in a lowered voice.
This aide had been watching the Minor Sect Leader’s movements under the Sect Leader’s direct orders.
He reported faithfully how Song Mu Gyeong, one of the Three Commanders, had demanded that the Minor Sect Leader step down from his position.
The aide’s lengthy account concluded as follows.
“Following your orders, I have refrained from interfering in the Minor Sect Leader’s affairs. However, this time the transgression has gone too far. To make such an absurd claim that the Minor Sect Leader is actually weak, and then to dare demand his resignation—we should drag him to White Tiger Palace at once and—”
“Who else knows of this matter?”
“No one but myself has heard or learned of it.”
“Then wait for now.”
“Pardon?”
“Let us observe how the Minor Sect Leader handles this.”
The aide found himself doubting whether the Sect Leader had truly heard his words correctly.
Though the position of Three Commander was indeed a high rank, this subordinate had still committed an act of rebellion that no mere disciple could even fathom.
It would not be strange to have his head severed on the spot.
Yet what was the Sect Leader’s response?
‘Baek Yeon….’
The Sect Leader fell into contemplation.
His eldest son, Baek Yeon, was quite an unusual child.
For some time now, he had never initiated conversation with others.
More precisely, this behavior had grown progressively worse since his mother—who had cherished Baek Yeon with such affection—passed from this world.
Yet his withdrawn nature itself had not posed a significant problem as Minor Sect Leader.
‘That boy’s cruel disposition….’
Baek Yeon was a brilliant child.
Perceptive enough to discern precisely what his father, the Sect Leader, desired of him.
The Sect Leader, who served as both sun and moon guiding the Sun and Moon Divine Sect, held a position where he must eventually stand as the supreme ruler of all martial artists.
Whenever young Baek Yeon displayed cruelty and savagery, the Sect Leader had been nothing but satisfied.
Even when victory was already assured in sparring matches with boys his age, breaking a limb or two seemed trivial.
Nor was he any different when facing adults.
Should a maidservant or attendant serving the Minor Sect Leader in Jeokwol Palace make even the slightest mistake, he would lash out with cutting words and harsh reproach.
The Sect Leader had always believed that Baek Yeon’s innate ferocity was genuine.
…Until just recently, before the Martial Alliance’s assassin attacked him.
‘Could it truly have all been an act?’
Moreover, if Song Mu Gyeong, who had served closest to the Minor Sect Leader since childhood, had come to feel the same way…
No, what Song Mu Gyeong thought mattered little.
If he heard such words from a servant and made no response, he would be openly declaring his own weakness to the world.
Thus he had decided not to intervene directly in this matter, but rather to observe how the Minor Sect Leader would handle it.
‘I should meet that boy once more.’

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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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