As he descended amid thunderous cheers after the match, Sama Hyeon was already waiting.

“Jackpot! Made tons of money, Brother~”

The arena was filled with people chanting “Little White Dragon.”

“But your martial reputation’s risen so high, the odds will probably drop next time?”

“Disappointed?”

“No way. How could I be when you won so spectacularly~ Though I am worried about the flies that might start buzzing around.”

Sama Hyeon grinned.

A high martial reputation meant there would be those looking to exploit it.

Sama Hyeon’s concern wasn’t unreasonable.

“Don’t worry.”

“If anyone bothers you, tell me. I’ll get rid of them the demonic cult way.”

His expression suggested the methods wouldn’t be legal, which was frightening.

Seeing Jin Cheonhee’s serious face, Sama Hyeon responded.

“Don’t worry, Brother. The Golden Blood Chamber is officially legal. When it’s time to remove the flies, I’ll use unofficial methods.”

Does he mean secretly burying them in the mountains?

As expected of a demonic cult.

Indeed, people should follow their aptitudes.

If that guy had gone to a orthodox sect, it would have been tragic for both Sama Hyeon himself and the orthodox sects.

“Preparing for the next match~!”

Following the referee’s voice, martial artists efficiently cleaned up the arena.

It didn’t take long.

Usually, arena cleanup meant wiping away bloodstains, but no blood had been spilled in this match.

Just the slightly troublesome task of collecting iron bullets.

Jin Cheonhee quickly employed his metal qi and thunder qi.

He rotated his thunder qi like a coil to temporarily create magnetism.

Recalling his hellish training of separating white and brown rice with void absorption, he began controlling the energy with minute precision.

Woooong-

The sword of a martial artist standing nearby trembled momentarily.

The iron bullets began returning one by one to Jin Cheonhee’s hand.

The spectators were dumbfounded at the sight that looked like a video playing in reverse.

Even the martial artists cleaning up froze in surprise.

Chwaruruk-

“One left.”

Even the last one farthest away.

Tak-

All the iron bullets were sucked into Jin Cheonhee’s sleeve.

“…”

Just as he thought he’d significantly reduced the post-match cleanup burden, cheers even louder than before erupted.

Woaaaaaaah!

“Did you see what Little White Dragon did?”

“Is it possible to do void absorption on that scale at once?”

“Come to think of it, we don’t know much about Little White Dragon’s true martial prowess!”

“Little White Dragon! Little White Dragon! Little White Dragon!”

Amid the tremendous cheering, Sama Hyeon said:

“Brother, you’d be good at Chinese opera too.”

His brother’s words made him suddenly realize.

Ah, was the showmanship too much?

Collecting the bullets one by one would be a big task… I just wanted to clean up my own mess, but…

His face reddened as he realized how it must have looked to others.

Ah… I’m no different from other late-stage experts.

Liking attention.

Wanting to look cool and get noticed.

Showing off a bit to build martial reputation.

“Brother, w-what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing. Just leave me alone for a moment.”

Jin Cheonhee curled up like a bear.

Acting like this at my age. How embarrassing…

Oblivious to Jin Cheonhee’s thoughts, the crowd continued chanting “Little White Dragon,” and the sound of followers increasing could be heard.

***

Next up was the match between Yeo Ha-ryoon and Peng Cheon-sik of the Northern Peng Family!

It was rare in martial arts history for an envoy from the Sun Moon Divine Cult, especially the demonic cult, to participate.

I heard that before being called a demonic cult, the Sun Moon Divine Cult was once like any ordinary sect.

But that was from far longer ago than when Shaolin detected the Blood Immortal Sect.

Now to the orthodox sects, the demonic cult was an unorthodox sect, in some ways worse than the actual unorthodox sects.

“The Sun Moon Divine Cult distributed relief grain during the last drought.”

“No, how can a demonic cult participate, no matter what?”

“Those crazy bastards are famous for kidnapping people! Be careful not to get brainwashed!”

What the demonic cult represents varies by wuxia novel.

In some novels, they’re just a tyrannical group that worships power, in others they’re portrayed as a sanctuary for villains who can’t live under the same sky.

Some novels even depict them as helping the poor against corrupt officials.

To readers, it seems to ultimately depend on which side the protagonist stands…

If the demonic cult is the protagonist’s enemy, they must be wicked, and if the opposite, they must be a wronged group.

In Supreme Heavenly Demon, the demonic cult has both faces.

They’re demonic until the protagonist takes power, then transform into tyrannical.

But their path being paved with blood remains the same.

Even while reading, I often felt sorry for Yeo Ha-ryoon.

“The odds on the demonic cult side keep dropping!”

“Who the hell keeps betting on the demonic cult?”

Those with silver in the demonic cult, those with grudges.

Even though the envoy came for friendship, that mixture of motivations remained unchanged.

Kaddeuk-

Somewhere in the back, a martial artist ground their teeth while looking at the demonic cult.

The sound was so chilling that even realm-reaching martial artists felt their nerves sharpen.

Sama Hyeon spoke languidly.

“Can’t figure out the Heavenly Demon~ Sending an envoy when one wrong move could get them massacred by all the martial artists here. Does he not care if they die~?”

“…”

Yeo Ha-ryoon stood quietly on the arena.

Still without a trace of vitality or breath, just quiet.

In black martial clothes and a dark mask, he created the illusion of a shadow wearing human cloth.

He no longer shows the killing intent unique to the Heavenly-Killing Star.

Though the urge to slaughter remains, he’s reached the level of not showing it outwardly.

How many death lines did he cross to reach that point?

Jin Cheonhee answered:

“Maybe he has something he can rely on.”

Because he’s the ‘protagonist.’

The ‘protagonist’ in wuxia novels casually makes the impossible possible.

‘Protagonists’ make unlikely events happen and dance within them.

Jin Cheonhee believed in Yeo Ha-ryoon.

He’d read his inner thoughts in the book and seen stories that might have been his future.

Because no one but Yeo Ha-ryoon could accomplish such impossible things.

Sama Hyeon saw his brother’s gaze fixed on Yeo Ha-ryoon.

An expression of firm trust.

Why? Was there something special about that person?

Sama Hyeon threw out a stone:

“…Or maybe there’s something that must be done even at the cost of death.”

Jin Cheonhee nodded at those words.

“Yeah. But that guy will be fine.”

The demonic cult came to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering for a friendly match.

The ‘protagonist’ makes possible what no one could imagine.

Jin Cheonhee didn’t doubt for a moment that he would survive even in this killing intent.

Sama Hyeon grew increasingly curious about where that trust came from.

Even the Golden Blood Chamber of the Hao Sect had extremely limited information about the demonic cult; Sama Hyeon had no information about Yeo Ha-ryoon.

“Brother, I bet on Peng Cheon-sik~”

“What?”

Jin Cheonhee looked at him with eyes saying ‘You’re going to lose that money?’

Sama Hyeon answered readily:

“I know it’s money to throw away. But isn’t this level of luxury okay?”

“Well, in a world where you make handkerchiefs from White Silkworm Silk…”

Jin Cheonhee nodded.

“Ah~ I wanted to bet more, but no matter how I thought about it, it felt wrong to put more on money I’ll lose.”

“That’s right.”

Jin Cheonhee answered without a shred of doubt.

Just what was Yeo Ha-ryoon to Jin Cheonhee?

Sama Hyeon felt wary curiosity.

“Demonic Cult Friendship Envoy versus Northern Peng Family’s Peng Cheon-sik! Begin!”

Yeo Ha-ryoon didn’t reveal his name, just calling himself the friendship envoy.

Seems they compromised, figuring he’d use an alias even if asked.

The two made light clasped fist salutes to each other and took their stances.

“Begin!”

Or more precisely, only Peng Cheon-sik took a stance.

“…”

Yeo Ha-ryoon just stood leisurely with his hands behind his back. At that sight, Jin Cheonhee clenched his fist.

Keu, this is it. This is how a wuxia novel’s demonic cult protagonist should be!

Isn’t this exactly what a protagonist should do—not even taking a stance, staying relaxed with an attitude of ‘You’re beneath me, so I’ll give you the first move’!

In that sense, Yeo Ha-ryoon was exactly the demonic cult protagonist that martial arts maniac Jin Cheonhee imagined.

Taking this as provocation, Peng Cheon-sik immediately unleashed the Five Tiger Single Gate Saber[1] toward Yeo Ha-ryoon.

“Die!”

In that moment, as Yeo Ha-ryoon took one step forward with his hands still behind his back, tremendous pressure was felt.

Kugugugu-

Could it be the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps[2]?!

Jin Cheonhee’s eyes widened. The martial art itself wasn’t the issue.

The Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps was a symbolic martial art.

A martial art that actively uses formless qi.

Learning the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps means he’s already learned the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts… Has he already become the Young Cult Master?

Void absorption notably also uses this formless qi.

While explanations of formless qi vary by wuxia novel, to a modern uncle who’s been reading since novels were written vertically:

It seems similar to the ‘Force’ used by Master Yda in Str W*rs.

When Master Y*da uses the Force to lift objects or pressure people, it has similarities to wuxia novels’ formless qi depictions.

Especially the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps, which uses formless qi to apply pressure to the opponent’s body and restrict movement.

With a large enough gap in power, it could even cause cardiac arrest.

However, it’s originally a martial art that doesn’t even reach quarter power at the transcendent realm.

That’s how difficult and demanding the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Steps is, famous even within the demonic cult.

But Yeo Ha-ryoon alone could do it.

Because the Heavenly-Killing Star’s talent was what unlocked it.

According to Supreme Heavenly Demon, eight or nine out of ten people with the Heavenly-Killing Star become madmen due to their murderous intent.

Though that’s dangerous, it alone isn’t classified as a martial world crime.

There are countless fools who go mad from wrongly learning demonic arts and die by blind blades while wandering.

More frightening is the Heavenly-Killing Star’s inherent genius.

When entering battle, the Heavenly-Killing Star’s power awakens further. That awakened enlightenment nature allows one to use power from beyond the next barrier. This is the Heavenly-Killing Star’s truly terrifying ability!

At the peak realm, one can use power from the next transcendent realm.

At transcendent, one can use power from the transformation realm.

It unconditionally manifests power from the next level.

That was the true terror of the Heavenly-Killing Star, the heaven-sent killing spirit.

And now, Yeo Ha-ryoon was showing exactly that.