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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Circulating Heaven Fire Talisman
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A clear blue sky and scorching sunlight pouring down.
Hyeok Mulin headed to the Heavenly Martial Hall today as well.
The Heavenly Martial Hall was a private training chamber reserved solely for the Cult Leader's use, with entry strictly forbidden to outsiders. No matter what happened inside, it remained completely hidden from the world.
Now a full month into repeating this routine, he spent most of his day here.
"This is the true starting point."
Simply returning to the past didn't mean everything would fall into place.
On the contrary, declaring the divorce had only hastened the deterioration of his relationship with the Cheon Clan.
He still had no forces loyal to him, and his own martial prowess was far from sufficient.
"In the end, all I can rely on is my own strength."
He couldn't depend solely on the advantage of knowing what the future held.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult operated on the logic of power, so honing his own abilities was the only path to survival.
Clunk.
Hyeok Mulin locked the door and lightly stretched his limbs, moving them this way and that.
As the Cult Leader's private training chamber, the floor was laid entirely with blue stone, making movement far more natural.
"That should be enough."
With his body sufficiently warmed up, Hyeok Mulin moved to the center of the chamber.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating his energy.
After a month of repeating this exact process, Hyeok Mulin finally sensed a change.
The extreme demonic energy he'd gathered bit by bit each day was showing signs of breaking through the Labor Palace acupoints in his palms and the Gushing Spring points in the soles of his feet.
Sip—
With a deep inhale, he focused all his energy into the Labor Palace points in his palms.
The meridians leading to those points cleared ever so slightly in an instant.
'Don't stop—straight to the next.'
Leaving just a thread of extreme demonic energy in the meridians to keep the pathways open, he redirected the rest to the Gushing Spring points in his feet.
Soon, those trembling meridians broke through as well.
From the Baihui point at the crown of his head, which he'd pierced once before, to both hands and feet.
The five-pointed star meridians in his body were now fully unblocked.
And in that moment, extreme demonic energy rippled through his entire body.
The waves undulated briefly before settling into stillness.
Exhale—
Hyeok Mulin slowly opened his eyes.
Having achieved the Circulating Heaven Fire Talisman, he looked down at his body.
'It's done.'
Even after stopping the circulation, he could feel his flesh resonating naturally with the world, accumulating energy on its own.
From now on, without deliberate cultivation, energy would gather automatically—whether sleeping or eating—constantly building in his lower dantian.
Of course, the amount was minuscule compared to formal cross-legged cultivation, but the fact that it happened effortlessly was a tremendous advantage.
After all, inner energy was always in short supply.
"As expected of a demonic art."
Just reaching the second ignition made such absurd accumulation possible.
He could only imagine what advancements the next stage of the Pure Soul Divine Demon Art would bring.
'Still not enough, though.'
No matter how superior the purity of this extreme demonic energy compared to ordinary demonic qi, its total quantity was still woefully inadequate for what lay ahead.
To stand equally against the Seven Great Demon Clans without the Cheon Clan's backing, he'd need far more power.
"Looks like I need to make some plans."
Things were about to get busy; he couldn't spend all day just cultivating anymore.
Boosting his inner energy.
'And the most effective way... is probably that thing in the elixir vault.'
Risky, but worth attempting now that he'd mastered the Pure Soul Divine Demon Art.
As Hyeok Mulin gripped his chin, pondering the details—
Knock knock—
Jang Wi knocked, snapping him from his thoughts.
"Come in."
At Hyeok Mulin's response, Jang Wi opened the door and bowed his head.
"Cult Leader, Second Elder Cheon Jungak has come to see you."
Finally here.
"Understood. Tell him I'll prepare and head over soon; have him wait in the Pure Heaven Pavilion."
"As you command."
His patience must have run out after a month.
They were the impatient ones, so no need to rush.
After sweating from training, he'd bathe, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then go.
With a smirk, Hyeok Mulin exited the Heavenly Martial Hall at an unhurried pace.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The Seven Great Demon Clans.
Seven prestigious houses that sought teachings from the founding Heavenly Demon and received divine weapons as gifts.
Since the Divine Cult's establishment, they had served as its core strength, forming the unshakeable backbone.
Among them, the one seated at the head, wielding immense influence, was the Cheon Clan.
And at that moment, Cheon Jungak—the Cheon Clan Patriarch and Second Elder of the Great Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—sat in the Pure Heaven Pavilion with a hardened expression.
"..."
Cheon Jungak, known as the Iron Blood Demon Emperor for his cold demeanor and merciless nature toward enemies, turned his head slowly.
He stared out the window at the sunlight pouring in.
The angle of the light had shifted considerably since his arrival, yet the Cult Leader had yet to appear.
Clenching his fist at the lingering silence, Cheon Jungak growled in a gruff voice.
"He's late."
After sending a letter over a month ago with no reply, he'd ordered an investigation out of suspicion.
But—
—The... Cult Leader burned your letter, Patriarch.
To receive such an absurd report.
"If it weren't for my daughter, I wouldn't have come here myself."
With his child on the verge of sudden divorce, there was no choice but to meet the son-in-law face-to-face.
Yet—
"To dare make me, Cheon Jungak, wait."
Putting an ignorant whelp on the throne had led to this—striking his father-in-law in the back and now making him cool his heels.
Clearly dazzled by power.
Suddenly gaining the Heavenly Demon's seat must have made the world seem his for the taking.
Thinking of the Cult Leader again stirred his rage, twitching his facial muscles, so he closed his eyes to calm himself.
At that moment, footsteps approached from outside.
Clunk.
"Kept you waiting."
Hyeok Mulin entered with a light greeting.
"...You seem quite busy."
"That's the nature of the Cult Leader's position. Please bear with me."
Though Cheon Jungak subtly revealed his displeasure, Hyeok Mulin brushed it off by gesturing to the piled documents and naturally took the seat of honor.
Cheon Jungak's pupils wavered slightly, expecting him to sit opposite.
"Care for some tea?"
"No need. We're not in a position for that right now."
"Are we not."
Their gazes met in the air.
Moments passed, and Cheon Jungak spoke first.
"I heard from my daughter. You suddenly brought up divorce."
"I judged now is the right time for us to part ways."
"After less than half a year of marriage?"
"Yes."
Cheon Jungak furrowed his brow at the reply.
In the end, no real reason—just using the Cheon Clan's prestige to claim the throne, now cutting ties.
"Hard to accept. But I can't allow my daughter to become the subject of gossip."
Ho.
He'd assumed it was purely about protecting his own power, but apparently not entirely.
'Come to think of it, Cheon Seohee is his only child.'
With just one daughter, it was no surprise he'd showered her with affection.
He could sense a father's desire to shield her name from scandal.
'Still, no helping it.'
This side was doing it to survive too.
He couldn't yield on the divorce, no matter what.
"Hard or not, you'll have to accept. What I said then was not up for discussion—it was a notice."
The atmosphere turned icy in an instant.
Staring daggers at Hyeok Mulin, Cheon Jungak lowered his voice chillingly.
"Then the Cheon Clan can no longer be your ally. Can you bear that?"
Without the Cheon Clan backing, the other clans' pressure would come crashing down.
Facing it alone would be suicidal.
But Hyeok Mulin smiled faintly.
"Bear it? Interesting choice of words. Since when does a Heavenly Demon look over his shoulder?"
"...!"
"Besides, losing me as an ally would hurt the Cheon Clan too, wouldn't it?"
No matter how lofty the Cheon Clan, they'd allied with the Hyeok Clan to gain what they wanted.
If that alliance broke, they could hold top rank among the Seven Great Demon Clans but would lose the leading seat.
The Hyeok Clan's modest influence—even from the fringes—had propelled them to the top.
"What insolence."
Cheon Jungak sneered, lifting one corner of his mouth.
But the leagues were different—power, forces, authority.
Comparing Hyeok Clan and Hyeok Mulin to Cheon Clan made the losses obvious.
The brat had forgotten his place after just three months as Heavenly Demon.
'Time to remind him of his station.'
Once burned, he'd tuck tail and submit.
Drawing formless demonic qi from his body, Cheon Jungak infused it with razor-sharp killing intent.
No physical harm.
Instead, a mental scar he'd never overcome.
Releasing murderous demonic qi from all directions, he hurled it at Hyeok Mulin.
But—
"..."
No change crossed Hyeok Mulin's face.
U unaffected by the pressure, he let it flow past impassively.
A faint crack appeared on the stoic Cheon Jungak's composure.
"Anything else to say?"
The implication was clear: a firm dismissal.
Cheon Jungak rose.
"...We'll see. Go ahead and have your way."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. We'll meet again at the next Elder Council."
Thud—
The door closed with a heavy sound.
"..."
Only after Cheon Jungak's presence fully vanished outside did Hyeok Mulin let out a faint sigh of relief.
Exhale.
That had been close.
He'd reached his limit too but feigned nonchalance to send him away.
A few days ago, he couldn't have withstood it fully.
But reaching the second ignition of the Pure Soul Divine Demon Art today had let him endure—just barely.
Hyeok Mulin carefully settled the roiling energy within.
"Still, it's different from before."
Precarious, but he'd held.
In his previous life, that killing intent would have frozen him like a mouse before a snake.
At least now, they couldn't crush him with aura alone.
Raising the corner of his mouth in satisfaction, Hyeok Mulin stood and turned his gaze.
"Speaking of which, the documents have piled up even more."
Neglecting the Pure Heaven Pavilion for a month had doubled the stack, spilling from the desk to the floor like a mountain.
It was already a lot; a bit more made no difference.
He had no time for it anyway.
"Hm?"
Then one letter caught Hyeok Mulin's eye.
Tossed casually in the center of the desk, it inexplicably drew his gaze.
As if entranced, he picked it up and slowly unfolded it.
The contents were utterly unexpected.
The sender was none other than the Great Military Strategist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Sima Geuk. The core message was simple.
[I hereby tender my resignation from the position of Great Military Strategist.][Sima Geuk respectfully submits.]
"..."
Hyeok Mulin stared down at the resignation letter.
Whoosh!
Summoning a blaze, he casually burned it.
"This time, you won't get away so easily."