Being a candidate for the successor of the Demonic Palace is akin to embarking on a perilous journey, traversing a blood-soaked path and enduring an unending struggle. However, upon entering the Demonic Palace, the status of ‘successor candidate’ commands a profound respect, surpassing that of any other individual. After all, they possess the esteemed qualification to ascend to the esteemed position of the next master of the Demonic Palace, the sovereign ruler of the Demonic Martial World.
In other words, they receive an extremely sincere protocol that does not damage the dignity of the Divine Demonic Emperor’s successor.
“Please board.”
Martial artists in black uniforms stood in attendance before Bu Eunseol and Hyeok So-jin. Behind them stood an eight-horse carriage, fluttering with a flag embroidered with the Twin Dragons Contesting for the Pearl, the symbol of the Demonic Palace.
As the two entered the Changsha Prefecture area where the Demonic Palace was located, these were the envoys of the Demonic Palace who had come to escort them politely.
Clack.
As Bu Eunseol and Hyeok So-jin boarded the carriage, the envoy closed the door respectfully. Then, he shouted in a low voice.
“Depart.”
Thud-thud-thud.
Not only were martial artists on swift horses escorting the running carriage from front and back, but there were also those secretly following the procession while hiding their presence.
Hyeok So-jin, seemingly intimidated by the overly sincere and solemn treatment, kept his mouth shut tight.
“We have arrived.”
Bu Eunseol and Hyeok So-jin got off the carriage, which had passed straight through the main gate of the Demonic Palace. Guided by the envoy, the two arrived in front of the Divine Demon Pavilion where the Divine Demonic Emperor resided.
“The order is for both of you to enter together.”
“Understood.”
When Bu Eunseol nodded, the envoy bowed lightly and left.
“…”
Looking up at the pavilion soaring high as if piercing the sky, Bu Eunseol’s eyes deepened.
Divine Demon Pavilion.
The place where the Divine Demonic Emperor, who stands tall above a million demonic practitioners, resides.
Suddenly, Bu Eunseol felt a strange doubt. The word ‘Divine’ is mainly used by the Orthodox factions or Taoists. Why was the word ‘Divine’ attached to the residence of the Divine Demonic Emperor, the symbol of the Domineering Path that rules all demons under the heavens?
“Thanks to Brother Bu, I’m rising in the world.”
Swallowing hard, Hyeok So-jin wiped the sweat from his forehead. Except when fighting, he was always languid and didn’t possess a speck of tension. Even such a Hyeok So-jin could not hide his nervousness standing before the Divine Demon Pavilion where the Number One of the Demonic Path resided.
Kuuung.
At that moment, the massive doors of the Divine Demon Pavilion slowly opened.
Inside seemed filled with darkness, but in reality, Seven-Colored Night Luminous Pearls were emitting light as bright as day.
As Bu Eunseol and Hyeok So-jin entered deep into the pavilion, a massive great hall unfolded. And at the far end, a giant ruling the Demonic World sat deeply in a Grand Preceptor’s Chair.
Divine Demonic Emperor.
When Bu Eunseol first encountered him, he presented an ever-shifting appearance, as if he were an indefinable entity. However, now, his demeanor had transformed. He exuded the grandeur of a Grandmaster who had ascended to the zenith of Demonic Arts—the ruler who had reached the pinnacle of the Demonic Path, shrouded in mystery and beyond comprehension.
So that was it.
Bu Eunseol could realize one fact. The way the Divine Demonic Emperor had stimulated his spirit by showing various appearances… that too had been a test.
Crack.
At that moment, Hyeok So-jin trembled violently and clenched his fists tight.
“Ugh.”
The whites of his eyes turned red, and thick veins began to stand out on his neck and forehead. He had suffered internal injury, unable to withstand the overwhelming aura emanating from the Divine Demonic Emperor’s body.
“Are you alright?”
“Of course.”
Hyeok So-jin forced a smile. But thick beads of sweat formed on his cheeks, and his skin began to heat up as if burned by charcoal. Hyeok So-jin, who had just entered the Transcendence Realm, could not handle the Divine Demonic Emperor’s energy filling the great hall.
“Go outside.”
“Brother Bu.”
“It seems the Divine Demonic Emperor has changed his mind and wishes to speak with me alone.”
If he hadn’t intended to let Hyeok So-jin in from the start, he would have blocked entry from the Divine Demon Pavilion. The Divine Demonic Emperor seemed to sense that Hyeok So-jin’s martial realm was far behind and intended to send him out.
“…Understood.”
Eventually, Hyeok So-jin bowed his head toward the Divine Demonic Emperor. And biting his lip, he left the Divine Demon Pavilion again. In the end, he turned away without even seeing the Divine Demonic Emperor directly.
“Disciple Bu Eunseol greets the Divine Demonic Emperor.”
As Bu Eunseol stood below the altar and gathered his hands, the Divine Demonic Emperor slowly rose from the Grand Preceptor’s Chair.
“!”
As their gazes met, Bu Eunseol’s eyes wavered greatly.
The Divine Demonic Emperor’s aura, which had been ordinary yet ever-changing, had become even more complex. Outwardly, he had the appearance of an ordinary old man, but the unknown existence lurking within had become even more powerful.
“Hmm.”
The Divine Demonic Emperor also nodded lightly, as if sensing that Bu Eunseol’s aura had changed from before.
Rustle.
As the Divine Demonic Emperor rose from his chair, he seemed to become a giant looking down on Bu Eunseol.
“You handled the matter better than expected.”
He merely opened his mouth and voiced words, yet it sounded like a temple bell ringing from the sky. The Divine Demonic Emperor wore a smile as he looked at Bu Eunseol, who still had his head bowed.
“To think you captured the demons of Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying in such an ingenious way.”
“Thank you.”
“But it is even more surprising that you made Momentless Fleet, which has refused to dirty its hands for so long, participate in battle voluntarily.”
The Divine Demonic Emperor expressed Momentless Fleet’s direct participation in battle as ‘dirtying hands’. It was as if he were rebuking Momentless Fleet, which had fought proxy wars by manipulating other sects and forces for a long time.
“What method on earth did you use?”
The Divine Demonic Emperor fixed a pair of eyes on Bu Eunseol’s pupils. At that, Bu Eunseol felt a pair of eyes, seemingly gathering flashing lightning, scanning his body and spirit thoroughly. It felt as if everything touched by that gaze was penetrated through the exterior, allowing the interior to be seen nakedly.
“I merely gave them a choice.”
“A choice, you say.”
It was an overly abrupt and short answer. But the Divine Demonic Emperor stared at Bu Eunseol with flashing eyes, then slapped his knee.
“Indeed, so that was it. What they truly wanted was not power, but a person who could give them a choice.”
Despite being a female sect, Momentless Fleet had maintained its position in the Ten Demonic Sects through immense wealth, unique mind-control arts, and connections with both the Orthodox and Demonic paths. But what they truly wanted was the choice to decide everything proactively—in other words, power. Without power, one cannot even make a choice.
Knowing this well, Bu Eunseol gave Momentless Fleet the power to stand on its own. And when Bu Eunseol chose to fight alone, risking his life, they protected him.
By their own choice.
“I see you came with the successor of Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying.”
This time, the Divine Demonic Emperor stared at Hyeok So-jin and spoke in a low voice.
“Are you using him as a servant?”
“The timing was right, so we ended up traveling the Gangho together.”
“Gangho journey, is it.”
The Divine Demonic Emperor smiled faintly. But the words that flowed out were brutal and harsh beyond measure.
“If you wish to become the successor to lead this Palace, you had better erase concepts like colleagues or friendship. Such things will soon become burdensome luggage blocking your path.”
Bu Eunseol could neither affirm nor deny. Originally, his values were similar to the Divine Demonic Emperor’s. But going through various events, he had unintentionally gained colleagues and friends.
‘But if I become the successor of the Demonic Palace…’ Leaving aside his servant Black Leopard or Hyeok So-jin, a fellow successor of the Ten Demonic Sects, could he maintain friendship with Tang Gon or Namgung Woon? ‘Now is not the time to think about such things.’
At that moment, the Divine Demonic Emperor spoke in a low voice, as if seeing through Bu Eunseol’s complex inner thoughts.
“Well, you can think about such things later.”
And with a faint smile, he changed the subject.
“Anyway, since you executed the order well, I must give you a reward.”
Slide.
Then, a door installed on the left side of the great hall opened, and a woman walked in carefully, holding a wooden box in both hands. Her skin was very pale, and her eyes were long and beautiful like a phoenix.
It was Jin Seol, who had taken the injured Bu Eunseol to Jeok Bung, the Head of the Council of Elders, in the past.
“It has been a long time. Young Master.”
She approached Bu Eunseol and greeted him with a comfortable smile. Jin Seol’s attitude was comfortable and natural, as if she were the Divine Demonic Emperor’s granddaughter.
She wasn’t a maidservant.
There is no maidservant who would greet someone so naturally in front of the Divine Demonic Emperor. Bu Eunseol keenly felt now that he knew nothing about the people related to the Demonic Palace.
Was she not a person of the Council of Elders?
She had guided the injured Bu Eunseol directly to Jeok Bung. But seeing her now, she seemed to be a person directly under the Divine Demonic Emperor.
This is also a matter to think about later.
“Greetings.”
When Bu Eunseol erased his complex thoughts and offered a greeting, she smiled brightly and opened the wooden box in her hands. On a fancy wrapping cloth lay a command token sparkling with five colors.
“I bestow upon you the Qilin Command Token.”
Bu Eunseol intuitively recalled the ‘Golden Ape Token’ he had received in the past.
***
Pavilion of Truth-Preserving of the Ten Thousand Demons.
The library and repository of secret manuals. Since the lowest-grade Golden Ape Token allowed entry to the first floor of the Pavilion of Truth-Preserving of the Ten Thousand Demons, which held seventy-eight thousand types of martial arts manuals… the Qilin Command Token was likely of a higher grade.
What a pity.
Before entering the Divine Demon Pavilion, Bu Eunseol had harbored a strange expectation. Perhaps the Divine Demonic Emperor would directly transmit martial arts? However, only after receiving the command token could he realize that expectation was in vain.
Well, there is no way he would transmit it.
The Divine Demonic Emperor’s martial arts are evaluated to have far surpassed the Supreme Heavenly Realm and reached the edge of the Limitless Realm. Considering that no one in martial history has reached the Heavenly Will Realm, he has reached the extreme state a human can ascend to.
If he were to transmit that epoch-making enlightenment and martial arts to a candidate, not even the successor… the Ten Demonic Sects would absolutely never tolerate it, even if others might.
“Thank you.”
As Bu Eunseol bowed his head and respectfully received the command token in the cloth, Jin Seol spoke in a small but clear voice.
“The Qilin Command Token allows you to ascend to the second floor of the Pavilion of Truth-Preserving of the Ten Thousand Demons.”
Her voice was so beautiful that it lingered in Bu Eunseol’s ears for a long time.
“I will give you ten days.”
In that instant, the Divine Demonic Emperor’s thick voice wiped away that lingering echo at once.
“Choose one martial art from there and master it.”
Bu Eunseol could not hide his puzzlement.
On the first floor of the Pavilion of Truth-Preserving of the Ten Thousand Demons, entered with the Golden Ape Token in the past, there were a whopping seventy-five thousand types of Demonic manuals. Of course, the number of supreme martial arts would be fewer than that, but to master only one martial art in ten days?
“And then seek this seat again.”
The moment he heard the Divine Demonic Emperor’s order, a thought flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
This too is a test…
Bu Eunseol could be certain. That this too was a test by the Divine Demonic Emperor to screen successor candidates. If the martial art mastered in the Pavilion of Truth-Preserving of the Ten Thousand Demons did not please him… he would immediately strip him of the successor candidate status.
“Understood.”
When Bu Eunseol bowed his head, the Divine Demonic Emperor slowly turned his body.
“I wish you martial fortune.”
Jin Seol smiled brightly and followed carefully behind the Divine Demonic Emperor.
In that instant, the light of the Seven-Colored Night Luminous Pearls that had brightly illuminated the interior of the great hall disappeared. Then, the forms of the Divine Demonic Emperor and Jin Seol vanished as if sucked into the darkness.
***
“Huff. Huff.”
Hyeok So-jin, who had come out of the Divine Demon Pavilion, was gasping for breath.
“Damn it.”
After catching his breath for a long time, he bit his lip and shook his head, ’I thought my skills had improved dramatically while traveling the Gangho with Brother Bu…’
The reality was that he was a half-wit not even qualified to stand before the Number One of the Demonic Path, the Divine Demonic Emperor. And that fact tormented his mind endlessly.
I still have a long way to go.
Hyeok So-jin had completely quit martial arts training after the age of ten. If he had trained diligently all this time… he would have reached a level befitting a successor of the Ten Demonic Sects, even if not to Bu Eunseol’s extent.
“Are you the one who followed the Successor of Wolf Fang Pavilion?”
At that moment, a low voice was heard.
Turning around, an old man who looked well over seven cheok tall was looking down at Hyeok So-jin. He had a long scar on his cheek and glaring eyes, looking fierce beyond measure. Judging by his unusual appearance and the aura exuding from his entire body, he did not seem to be an ordinary person.
“Who are you?”
At Hyeok So-jin’s question, the old man spoke calmly.
“I am Sang Hak, the Pavilion Master in charge of the Eight Demons Pavilion.”
The Eight Demons Pavilion is the armory where the divine weapons possessed by the Demonic Palace are gathered. And the Pavilion Master Sang Hak was a great demonic figure who dominated the martial world in the past, a master of weaponry called the Hundred Weapons Demonic Monster.
“No, I did not follow, but…”
Hyeok So-jin, waving his hands, realized something and let his shoulders droop. Giving up on learning martial arts, let alone martial activities, he had lived indulged in gambling and alcohol in Heaven-Severing, Earth-Destroying. Although his martial arts had developed rapidly with Bu Eunseol’s help, his skills were not yet enough to assert the status of a successor of the Ten Demonic Sects.
“…I begged and followed.”
Sang Hak stared at Hyeok So-jin talking nonsense, frowned, and spoke in a low voice.
“It is the Divine Demonic Emperor’s order, so follow this Pavilion Master.”